وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُمْ بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَنِ مَثَلًا ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ ﴿۱۷﴾ أَوَمَنْ يُنَشَّأُ فِي الْحِلْيَةِ وَهُوَ فِي الْخِصَامِ غَيْرُ مُبِينٍ ﴿۱۸﴾ وَجَعَلُوا الْمَلَائِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ إِنَاثًا أَشَهِدُوا خَلْقَهُمْ سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَادَتُهُمْ وَيُسْأَلُونَ ﴿۱۹﴾ وَقَالُوا لَوْ شَاءَ الرَّحْمَنُ مَا عَبَدْنَاهُمْ مَا لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ ﴿۲۰﴾

﴾17﴿ Wa izaa bushshira ahaduhum bimaa daraba lir Rahmaani masalan zalla wajhuhoo muswaddanw wa huwa kazeem
﴾18﴿ Awa mai yunashsha'u fil hilyati wa huwa fil khisaami ghairu mubeen
﴾19﴿ Wa ja'alul malaaa'ikatal lazeena hum 'ibaadur Rahmaani inaasaa; 'a shahidoo khalqahum; satuktabu shahaadatuhum wa yus'aloon
﴾20﴿ Wa qaaloo law shaaa'ar Rahmaanu maa 'abadnaahum; maa lahum bizaalika min 'ilmin in hum illaa yakhrusoon

﴾17﴿ And when one of them is given the glad tidings of what he attributes to the Most Merciful, his face darkens, and he is filled with grief
﴾18﴿ Do they attribute to Allah one who is brought up in adornments and is unable to express herself clearly in argument
﴾19﴿ And they claim that the angels, who are the servants of the Most Merciful, are females. Did they witness their creation? Their statement will be recorded, and they will be questioned
﴾20﴿ And they say, If the Most Merciful had willed, we would not have worshiped them. They have no knowledge of this; they do nothing but speculate

[17] This is a rebuke and refutation in another manner: that the very creation which you naturally consider lowly for yourselves, you attribute to Allah the Exalted.
This is a grave dishonoring of Allah the Exalted, an act of extreme disrespect.
[18] This is another form of rebuke. It means: women, compared to men, are considered the weaker gender—so how can you attribute this weaker gender to Allah the Exalted, who is All-Knowing and All-Powerful?
This weakness is mentioned in two aspects:
First, in terms of adornment—because women appear incomplete without ornaments, whereas men do not need adornment for their dignity.
Second, in speech and debate—due to their modesty, women are often unable to fully express their arguments and intentions.
The verse (أَوَمَنْ يُنَشَّأُ فِي الْحِلْيَةِ)—"Is one brought up among ornaments..."—is a proof that wearing silver and gold ornaments is permissible for women.
Many hadiths affirm this, and those that prohibit the use of gold are interpreted by some scholars to refer to situations where zakat is not paid on it, or as being disliked (makrūh), or where there is extravagance (isrāf).
[19] Previously, the rebuke was regarding their claim that the angels are the daughters of Allah the Exalted. Now, the rebuke is that they refer to the angels as feminine and describe them with feminine attributes.
The phrase (الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ)—“those who are the servants of the Most Merciful”—expresses the correct belief about the angels, in response to those who ask whether angels are male or female.
This is also a refutation of those who consider the angels to be deities.
The word (إِنَاثًا)—“females”—points out their error in describing angels in feminine terms. For example, in Persian they say "fereshteh" and in Pashto "fryshta" or "malaika", all of which are feminine in form.
Using such terms is not appropriate. The correct view is that they are servants of Allah the Exalted.
The phrase (وَيُسْأَلُونَ)—“and they will be questioned”—means they will be held accountable.
This implies: why do you follow a claim without evidence?
Al-Sharbīnī said: This proves that following statements without proof is a false act, and blind imitation (taqlīd) is forbidden—it leads to many evils.
[20] This is another rebuke of their act of associating partners with Allah, as they worship the angels. They also mention a false argument, claiming that this shirk (association) is in accordance with the will (approval) of Allah the Exalted. This is an old excuse used by the polytheists.
Up to this point, it has become clear that the polytheists in regard to the angels committed five types of disbelief:
1. They believed that Allah the Exalted has a "part"—i.e., a child.
2. They considered the angels to be the daughters of Allah.
3. They described the angels as female.
4. They worshipped the angels.
5. They attributed this belief and action to the will of Allah the Exalted, meaning they considered it a righteous deed.