Or has He taken daughters out of what He has created, and He has selected for you sons? 16 And if one of them is given the glad tidings of what he professes regarding the Most Gracious, his face blackens and he is mournful! 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 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 Beneficent Allah had pleased, we should never have worshipped them. They have no knowledge of this; they only lie. 20 Or have We given them any Book before this (the Quran), to which they are holding fast? 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 Whenever We sent a messenger before you to warn a township, the affluent among them said, in the same way, "We saw our fathers following this tradition; we are only following in their footsteps." 23 ۞ (And the warner) said: What! Even though I bring you better guidance than that ye found your fathers following? They answered: Lo! in what ye bring we are disbelievers. 24 So We requited them. Then see the nature of the consequence for the rejecters! 25