What! has He taken daughters out of what He himself creates, and granted to you sons for choice? 16 And when any of them is given the good tidings of that he has likened to the All-merciful, his face is darkened, and he chokes inwardly. 17 Do they assign to Allah one who grows up amidst ornaments and is not well-versed in the art of disputation? 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 Yet they say: "Had [not] the Most Gracious so willed, we would never have worshipped them!" [But] they cannot have any knowledge of [His having willed] such a thing: they do nothing but guess. 20 Did We give them a Scripture before this to which they are holding fast? 21 In fact they say: "We found our fathers following a certain way, and are guided by their footprints." 22 Thus, We never sent an admonisher to a settlement before you but the decadent among them said. "We found our fathers following this way, and we are walking in their footsteps." 23 ۞ The warner said: What! even though I bring you a better guidance than that which ye found your fathers upon? They said: verily in that wherewith ye are sent we are disbelievers. 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