Has He then taken daughters out of His own creation and chosen sons for you? 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 (Liken they then to Allah) that which is bred up in outward show, and in dispute cannot make itself plain? 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 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 Or have We given them any Book before this (the Quran), to which they are holding fast? 21 Rather they said, “We found our forefathers upon a religion, and we are following their footsteps.” 22 And similarly, We did not send before you any warner into a city except that its affluent said, "Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are, in their footsteps, following." 23 ۞ The Messengers would say, "Would you still follow in the footsteps of your fathers even if I was to bring you better guidance?" They would say, "We have no faith in your message". 24 So we took retribution from them; then see how was the end of the deniers. 25