Urwa bin Zubayr reported,

Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, reported that marriage during the pre-Islamic era took four forms.One form was the marriage practiced by people today, in which a man proposes to another man for his ward or daughter, pays her a dowry, and then marries her.Another form was where a man would say to his wife, after she had become pure from her menstrual period, "Send for so-and-so and seek intercourse with him." Her husband would keep away from her and never touch her until it became clear that she was pregnant by the man she had sought intercourse with. Once her pregnancy was confirmed, her husband could be intimate with her again if he wished. He did this out of a desire for noble offspring. This type of marriage was called nikah al-istibda.Another form was where a group of fewer than ten men would gather and all of them would have intercourse with the same woman. If she became pregnant and gave birth, then after several nights had passed since the delivery, she would send for them, and none of them could refuse to come. Once they were assembled before her, she would say to them, "You all know what occurred between you and me, and I have given birth. He is your son, so-and-so." She would name whichever of them she wished, and the child would be attributed to him, with the man having no ability to refuse.The fourth form was where many men would gather and go in to a woman who would not refuse anyone who came to her. These were the prostitutes, who used to set up flags at their doors as a sign. Whoever wanted them would enter. If one of them became pregnant and delivered her child, the men would assemble before her and call in the physiognomists, who would then attribute the child to whichever of them they judged most resembled. The child would be assigned to him and called his son, and he could not refuse this.When Muhammad ﷺ was sent with the truth, he abolished all the marriages of the pre-Islamic era except for the marriage practiced by people today.

عن عروة بن الزبير

أن عائشة زوج النبي ﷺ أخبرته أن النكاح في الجاهلية كان على أربعة أنحاء: فنكاح منها نكاح الناس اليوم: يخطب الرجل إلى الرجل وليته أو ابنته، فيصدقها ثم ينكحها. ونكاح آخر: كان الرجل يقول لامرأته: إذا طهرت من طمثها: أرسلي إلى فلان فاستبضعي منه، ويعتزلها زوجها ولا يمسها أبدا، حتى يتبين حملها من ذلك الرجل الذي تستبضع منه، فإذا تبين حملها أصابها زوجها إذا أحب، وإنما يفعل ذلك رغبة في نجابة الولد، فكان هذا النكاح نكاح الاستبضاع، ونكاح آخر: يجتمع الرهط ما دون العشرة، فيدخلون على المرأة كلهم يصيبها، فإذا حملت ووضعت، ومر عليها ليالي بعد أن تضع حملها، أرسلت إليهم، فلم يستطع رجل منهم أن يمتنع، حتى يجتمعوا عندها، تقول لهم: قد عرفتم الذي كان من أمركم، وقد ولدت، فهو ابنك يا فلان، تسمي من أحبت باسمه فيلحق به ولدها، لا يستطيع أن يمتنع به الرجل، ونكاح الرابع: يجتمع الناس الكثير، فيدخلون على المرأة، لا تمتنع ممن جاءها، وهن البغايا، كن ينصبن على أبوابهن رايات تكون علما، فمن أرادهن، دخل عليهن، فإذا حملت إحداهن ووضعت حملها جمعوا لها، ودعوا لهم القافة، ثم ألحقوا ولدها بالذي يرون، فالتاطته به، ودعي ابنه، لا يمتنع من ذلك، فلما بعث محمد ﷺ بالحق، هدم نكاح الجاهلية كله إلا نكاح الناس اليوم.