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290chapter five‘greed’ must be interpreted as a man’s denial of any wrongdoing onhis part. He blames the woman for the breakdown of their relationshipwhile claiming all goodness for himself. In front of an arbiter,who wants to reconcile the two parties, the man admits no fault inhis own behaviour, resists all attempts at change, and avoids reflectionon the things that have gone wrong in his relationship. Suchbehaviour makes it extremely difficult, if not totally impossible, tomediate and reconcile the differences.It is most intriguing to see that our verse ends with Allah’s encouragementto practice self-restraint, and that the next verse (4:129)continues the theme by advising against the practice of polygyny. Itis as if polygyny is seen as one of the reasons why men forget theirduties and neglect their families.But if you do good and practise self-restraint, God is well-acquaintedwith all that you do. ( Al-Nis§" 4:128)You are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it isyour ardent desire: But turn not away (from a woman) altogether, soas to leave her (as it were) hanging (in the air). If you come to a friendlyunderstanding, and practise self-restraint, God is oft-forgiving, mostmerciful. ( Al-Nis§" 4:129)It should be stressed again that the problem of ‘injustice betweenwomen’ is not primarily sexual negligence. Injustice is caused bynegligence regarding all the other aspects of family life: care forchildren, support of elderly people in the family, provision of foodand clothes, mortgage payments, and so on. This is exactly how theprevious verse defined men’s nushåz and neglect as the two reasonswhy men have lost their qiw§ma.The use of the conditional phrase ‘but if you do good…’ in 4:128indicates that Allah accepts that reconciliation is only a possibilityand not a foregone conclusion. Many things can go wrong at thisstage, and even if it is preferable that a family stay together, it cannotalways be achieved by all the will in the world. The next verse 4:130confirms that at some junctures separation is inevitable:But if they disagree (and must part), God will provide abundance forall from His all-reaching bounty: for God is He that cares for all andis wise. ( Al-Nis§" 4:130)Again, the position of women provides the rationale for this verse.If they have been treated badly, if men have been cruel to them orhave neglected them, it is they who are entitled to ask for a divorce