alone. They may describe the Hereafter both generally and in detail, while some of them may recount certain narratives only in general terms.

Matters concerning Allah, however, are the foundation. The command to worship Allah alone, to the exclusion of all others, must be explained in detail. Every prophet must therefore teach the three foundations: belief in Allah, belief in the Last Day, and righteous deeds. Allah mentions the universal foundations shared by the prophets in the Meccan surahs, such as al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, the surahs beginning with “Alif Lām Rā,” “Tā Sīn Mīm,” and “Hā Mīm,” most of the Mufassal surahs, and others of this kind. The Medinan surahs include addresses to those who believe in messengers in general, from among the People of the Book, from among those who believe in the revealed laws with which the Seal of the Messengers was sent.

As for the claim that this concerns one particular individual, it is utterly untenable, both in wording and in meaning. Moreover, Allah singles out a particular case for a ruling peculiar to it only because of a consideration peculiar to that case. An example is what the Prophet said to Abū Burdah ibn Niyār. He had slaughtered his sacrifice on Eid before the prayer, before the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had prescribed for them that slaughtering should take place after the prayer. When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The first thing we do on this day of ours is pray; then we slaughter our sacrifices. Whoever slaughtered before the prayer must offer another sacrifice, for his animal was merely a sheep slaughtered for meat that he provided for his family,”

Abū Burdah told him that he had slaughtered before the prayer, not knowing that this was impermissible. He also told him that he had a young she-goat better than a jadhaʿah. He said:

“It will suffice for you, but it will not suffice for anyone after you.”

He singled him out for this ruling because he was excused for slaughtering before the prayer: he had done so before the ruling was instituted, so it was not