Or [do you think,] perchance, that out of all His creation He has chosen for Himself daughters, and favoured you with 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 "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, perchance, vouchsafed them, before this one, a revelation [to the contrary,] to which they are still holding fast? 21 Rather they said, “We found our forefathers upon a religion, and we are following their footsteps.” 22 Just in the same way, whenever We sent a Warner before thee to any people, the wealthy ones among them said: "We found our fathers following a certain religion, and we will certainly follow in their footsteps." 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 revenge from them – therefore see what sort of fate befell those who denied! 25