What! has He taken daughters to Himself of what He Himself creates and chosen you to have sons? 16 And when one of them is given good tidings of that which he attributes to the Most Merciful in comparison, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. 17 ["Do you ascribe to God] one who is brought up among ornaments and who cannot produce a cogent argument?" 18 And they have made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned. 19 And they said: "If it had been the Will of the Most Beneficent (Allah), we should not have worshipped them (false deities)." They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do nothing but lie! 20 Have We given them a Book before this, to which they are holding fast? 21 No indeed! They say, "We have found our fathers following a certain course, and 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 ۞ "Even if I bring you a better guidance," he rejoined, "than the one you found your fathers on?" Still they said: "We do not believe in what you have brought." 24 So we took retribution from them; then see how was the end of the deniers. 25