Understanding Qur’anic marriage law requires reconstructing pre-Islamic institutions.

Evidence

Watt upon the social background of pre-Islamic Arabia, we shall find, among other things, that it seems to establish what the Qur’an really required in its marriage law, by clarifying the existing institutions in relation to which the requirements were published. Definition of this kind enables the Christian to assess the true significance of Muhammad as the vehicle for religious precept in moral matters. Without it, he is incompetent to judge. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1736