Khalil or Ibn Khalil said “A woman was brought to Ali bin Abi Talib(may Allaah be pleased with him). She bore a child from intercourse of three persons. The narrator transmitted the rest of the tradition similar to the previous one. But in this version he did not mention “Yemen” and the Prophet (ﷺ) and his words “give the child willingly.”
Sunan Abi Dawud Book 13, Hadith 97
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Three persons were brought to Ali (Allah be pleased with him) when he was in the Yemen. They and sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity. He asked two of them: Do you acknowledge this child for this (man)? They replied: No. He then put this (question) to all of them. Whenever he asked two of them, they replied in the negative. He, therefore, cast a lot among them, and attributed the child to the one who received the lot. He imposed two-third of the blood-money (i.e. the price of the mother) on him. This was then mentioned to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he laughed so much that his molar teeth appeared.
Sunan Abi Dawud Book 13, Hadith 96 Next Hadith → A’ishah wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) said “Marriage in pre Islamic times was of four kinds.” One of them was the marriage contracted by the people today. A man asked another man to marry his relative (sister or daughter) to him. He fixed the dower and married her to him. Another kind of marriage was that a man asked his wife when she became pure from menstruation to send fro so and so and have sexual intercourse with him. Her husband kept himself aloof and did not have intercourse with her till It became apparent that she was pregnant from the man who had intercourse with her. When it was manifest that she was pregnant, her husband approached her if he liked. This marriage was called istibda’(to utilize man for intercourse for a noble birth). A third kind of marriage was that a group of people less than ten in number entered upon a woman and had intercourse with her. When she conceived gave birth to a child and a number of days passed after her delivery, she sent for them. No one of them could refuse to attend and they gathered before her. She said to them “You have realized your affair. I have now given birth to a child. And this is your son. O so and so. She called the name of anyone of them she liked and the child was attributed to him. A fourth kind of marriage was that many people gathered together and entered upon a woman who did not prevent anyone who came to her. They were prostitutes. They hoisted flags at their doors which served as a sign for the one who intended to enter upon them. When she became pregnant and delivered the child , they got together before her and called for the experts of tracing relationship from physical features. They attributed the child to whom they considered and it was given to him. The child was called his son and he could not deny. When Allah sent Muhammad (ﷺ) as a Prophet, he abolished all kinds of marriages prevalent among the people of the pre Islamic times except of the Muslims practiced today.
Sunan Abi Dawud Book 13, Hadith 98
Sunan Abi Dawud Book 13, Hadith 96 Next Hadith → A’ishah wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) said “Marriage in pre Islamic times was of four kinds.” One of them was the marriage contracted by the people today. A man asked another man to marry his relative (sister or daughter) to him. He fixed the dower and married her to him. Another kind of marriage was that a man asked his wife when she became pure from menstruation to send fro so and so and have sexual intercourse with him. Her husband kept himself aloof and did not have intercourse with her till It became apparent that she was pregnant from the man who had intercourse with her. When it was manifest that she was pregnant, her husband approached her if he liked. This marriage was called istibda’(to utilize man for intercourse for a noble birth). A third kind of marriage was that a group of people less than ten in number entered upon a woman and had intercourse with her. When she conceived gave birth to a child and a number of days passed after her delivery, she sent for them. No one of them could refuse to attend and they gathered before her. She said to them “You have realized your affair. I have now given birth to a child. And this is your son. O so and so. She called the name of anyone of them she liked and the child was attributed to him. A fourth kind of marriage was that many people gathered together and entered upon a woman who did not prevent anyone who came to her. They were prostitutes. They hoisted flags at their doors which served as a sign for the one who intended to enter upon them. When she became pregnant and delivered the child , they got together before her and called for the experts of tracing relationship from physical features. They attributed the child to whom they considered and it was given to him. The child was called his son and he could not deny. When Allah sent Muhammad (ﷺ) as a Prophet, he abolished all kinds of marriages prevalent among the people of the pre Islamic times except of the Muslims practiced today.
Sunan Abi Dawud Book 13, Hadith 98