Or has He taken to Himself, from that He creates, daughters, and favoured you with sons? 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! [Am I to have a daughter] one who is to be reared [only] for the sake of ornament?" and thereupon he finds himself torn by a vague inner conflict. 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: 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, but they say, 'We found our fathers upon a community, and we are guided upon their traces.' 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 took revenge from them – therefore see what sort of fate befell those who denied! 25