Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 9.djvu/228

212 Yet they make for Him of His servants offspring ; verily, man is surely obviously ungrateful.

Has He taken of what He creates daughters, and chosen sons for you ?

Yet when the tidings are given any one of that which he strikes out as a similitude for the merciful One, his face grows black and he is choked. What ! one brought up amongst ornaments, and who is always in contention without obvious cause ?

And have they made the angels, who are the servants of the Merciful One, females ? Were they witnesses of their creation ? their witness shall be written down, and they shall be questioned ; and they say, ‘ Had the Merciful pleased we should never have worshipped them.’ They have no knowledge of that, they only conjecture.

Have we given them a book before it to which they might hold ?

Nay; they say, ‘ We found our fathers (agreed) upon a religion, and, verily, we are guided by their traces.’

Thus, too, did we never send before thee to a city any warner, but the affluent ones thereof said, ‘ Verily, we found our fathers (agreed) upon a religion, and, verily, we are led by their traces.’

Say, ‘ What ! if I come to you with what is a better guide than what ye found your fathers agreed upon ?’ and they will say, ‘ Verily, we in what ye are sent with disbelieve !’