Has God chosen some of His own creatures as daughters for Himself and has given you the preference of having sons? 16 And when one of them is given news of that of which he sets up as a likeness for the Beneficent Allah, his face becomes black and he is full of rage. 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-- them who are the servants of the Beneficent Allah-- female (divinities). What! did they witness their creation? Their evidence shall be written down and they shall be questioned. 19 And they said, "If the Most Merciful had willed, we would not have worshipped them." They have of that no knowledge. They are not but falsifying. 20 Or have We given them any Book before this (the Quran), to which they are holding fast? 21 Nay! they say: verily we have found our fathers on a certain way, and verily by their footsteps we are guided. 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 ۞ Say: 'What, though I should bring you a better guidance than you found your fathers upon?' They say, 'We disbelieve in that you were sent with.' 24 So We inflicted retribution on them, then see how was the end of the rejecters. 25