Fifth Principle: A singular noun that is annexed (iḍāfa) conveys the sense of universality just as clearly as a plural noun does.
Thus, when Allah says, “Forbidden to you are your mothers …” (al-Nisāʾ 4:23), the phrase embraces every woman who is your mother, however far back in the line of ascent, and every woman who is your daughter, however far down in descent—as well as all the other categories mentioned in that verse.
The same applies to His words, “As for the favor of your Lord, proclaim it” (al-Ḍuḥā 93:11): the command covers every blessing, whether religious or worldly. Likewise, “Say: ‘Indeed my prayer, my rites of worship, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds’” (al-Anʿām 6:162) includes all prayers of every kind, every sacrificial rite, and everything that concerns a servant in life and in death—recognizing that all of it is a grace from Allah, and that you have performed and dedicated all of it solely to Him, without partner.
His saying, “Take the standing place of Abraham as a place of prayer” (al-Baqarah 2:125), according to one interpretation, extends to all of his stations within the sacred rites of ḥajj: take every one of them as a spot for worship.
Still more explicit is His statement, “Then We revealed to you: Follow the creed of Abraham, unswervingly” (al-Naḥl 16:123), which encompasses everything Abraham embodied of monotheism and pure devotion to Allah, faithfully discharging the rights of servitude.
Even broader and more comprehensive are His words, after mentioning the prophets: “Those are the ones whom Allah guided, so follow their guidance” (al-Anʿām 6:90). Here Allah commands His Messenger to emulate everything upon which the messengers were united of guidance—beneficial knowledge, noble character, righteous deeds, and the straight path. This verse is among the textual proofs for the well-known legal maxim: “The law revealed to those before us is, for us, law as long as our own law has not ruled otherwise.” The legislation of the earlier prophets is, in reality, their guidance in both the fundamentals and the particulars of religion.