What! has He taken daughters to Himself of what He Himself creates and chosen you to have sons? 16 When any of them is given the news of the very thing [i.e. a female child] which he himself has ascribed to the All Merciful, his face darkens and he is filled with grief -- 17 (As such they attribute to Allah) who is brought up among ornaments but when disputes arise are powerless. 18 And they make the angels who are the bondmen of the Compassionate females. Have they witnessed their creation? Their testimony will be written down, and they will be questioned. 19 And they say: had the Compassionate willed we should not have worshipped them. They have no knowledge thereof; they are only guessing. 20 Or have We given them a book before the Qur'an to which they are adhering? 21 Nay! they say: We found our fathers on a course, and surely we are guided by their footsteps. 22 In the same way, whenever We had sent a Messenger before you to warn a town, the rich ones therein said, "We found our fathers following a certain belief and we follow in their footsteps. 23 ۞ Each messenger said, "What if I should bring you better guidance than what you found your forefathers had?" They replied, "We reject any message you have been sent with!" 24 So we took retribution from them; then see how was the end of the deniers. 25