Or chooseth He daughters of all that He hath created, and honoureth He 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 Does God choose for Himself the kind of children who grow up wearing ornaments and who are not strong enough to defend their rights? 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 say, “If the Most Gracious had willed, we would not have worshipped them!” They do not know its truth at all; they only make guesses. 20 Or have We given them a book before it so that they hold fast to it? 21 Nay, but they say: "Behold, We found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and verily, it is in their footsteps that we find our guidance!" 22 And thus it is: whenever We sent any warner to a city its affluent ones said: “We found our forefathers on a way and we continue to follow in their footsteps.” 23 ۞ Each messenger said, "What if I should bring you better guidance than what you found your forefathers had?" They replied, "We reject any message you have been sent with!" 24 So We took vengeance upon them, and see how the end was of those who lied. 25