وَٱصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِى
And I produced you for Myself.
Introduction
This is āyah 41 of Sūrat Taa-Haa (Ta-Ha), the 45th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 16. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 45 of 114
- Surah
- Taa-Haa (20)
“I chose thee for Myself.” “O Moses! You were not worthy-you had little worthiness-for Me to choose you. That was not for you, but rather for Me.” This is why, when he seized his brother by the head and pulled him severely, He did not say, “Why did you do that?” When he punched out the eye of Azrael with his fist, He did not say, “Why did you do that?” When he threw the tablets of the Torah on the ground, He did not say, “Why did you throw them?” Yes, within the curtain of friendship things go on that outside the curtain of friendship would all be faults, but inside the curtain of friendship are tolerated. When the beloved comes with one sin, his beautiful traits come with a thousand interceders.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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