If you say: What is the meaning of 'Then his Lord chose him'? I say: Then He accepted him after repentance and brought him close to Him, as in 'I gathered such and such to me, so I chose him.' An example of this is: 'The bride was unveiled to me, so I unveiled her.' From it is His saying, exalted is He: 'And when they do not come to you with a sign, they say: Why did you not choose it?' meaning: Why did you not gather it to yourself, so you chose it? The root of the word means gathering. They say: 'The horse chose itself' if it gathered itself back after fleeing. And 'He guided' means He granted him success in preserving repentance and other causes of protection and piety.