Or has He taken from those He has created daughters for Himself, and assigned sons to you? 16 And if one of them hath tidings of that which he likeneth to the Beneficent One, his countenance becometh black and he is full of inward rage. 17 Hath He taken to Himself that which is reared in ornaments, and is in contention not plain? 18 And they appoint the angels, who are the bondmen of the Most Gracious, as females; were they present at the time of the angels’ creation? Their declaration will be now recorded and they will be questioned. 19 And they say: If the Beneficent One had (so) willed, we should not have worshipped them. They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do but guess. 20 Or have We given them any scripture before (this Qur'an) so that they are holding fast thereto? 21 Nay, for they say only: Lo! we found our fathers following a religion, and we are guided by their footprints. 22 Whenever We sent a messenger before you to warn a township, the affluent among them said, in the same way, "We saw our fathers following this tradition; we are only following in their footsteps." 23 ۞ Say: 'What then if I bring you a better guidance than that you found your fathers following' But they reply: 'We disbelieve in that you have been sent with.' 24 So We exacted retribution from them: now see what was the end of those who rejected (Truth)! 25