Or, has He taken daughters from those He has created for Himself and favored sons for you? 16 For [thus it is:] if any of them is given the glad tiding of [the birth of] what he so readily attributes to the Most Gracious, his face darkens, and he is filled with suppressed anger: 17 What, one who is reared amid ornaments and, when the time of altercation comes, is not to be seen? 18 They claim that the angels, who are themselves the worshipers of the Merciful, are females. Did they witness their creation! Their witness shall be written down and they shall be questioned. 19 They say, 'Had the All-merciful so willed, we would not have served them.' They have no knowledge of that; they are only conjecturing. 20 Or have We given them any Book before this (the Quran), to which they are holding fast? 21 Nay! they say: "We found our fathers following a certain religion, and we do guide ourselves by their footsteps." 22 Even so We sent never before thee any warner into any city, except that its men who lived at ease said, 'We indeed found our fathers upon a community, and we are following upon their traces.' 23 ۞ Each Prophet asked them: “Will you do so even if we were to show you a way better than the way of your forefathers?” They answered: “We disbelieve in the religion with which you have been sent.” 24 And so We inflicted Our retribution on them: and behold what happened in the end to those who gave the lie to the truth! 25