Has Allah taken for Himself daughters out of those whom He creates and has chosen you to have sons? 16 When any of them is given the news of the very thing [i.e. a female child] which he himself has ascribed to the All Merciful, his face darkens and he is filled with 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 And they make the angels who themselves are slaves to the Most Beneficent (Allah) females. Did they witness their creation? Their evidence will be recorded, and they will be questioned! 19 They say, 'Had the All-merciful so willed, we would not have served them.' They have no knowledge of that; they are only conjecturing. 20 Or did We bring them a Book aforetime to which they hold? 21 Rather they said, “We found our forefathers upon a religion, and we are following their footsteps.” 22 And thus it is: whenever We sent, before thy time, a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures would always say: "Behold, we found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and verily, it is but in their footsteps that we follow!" 23 ۞ [Whereupon each prophet] would say: "Why, even though I bring you guidance better than that which you found your forefathers believing in?" - [to which] the others would reply, "Behold, we deny that there is any truth in [what you claim to be] your messages!" 24 So we took retribution from them; then see how was the end of the deniers. 25