Sección HS 5: evacuación de aguas 116

Another recurrent pattern that I found in my data related to the organization of time on the basis of religious practices. This prompts me to suggest that in the Saudi context the participants’ family life is organized in relation to a particular kind of social synchronization, one in which “activities are synchronized with other social activities” and thus require “awareness of the social environment, attentiveness to what other people are doing” (Van Leeuwen, 2008:5). In this case, it is important to consider the extent to which the management of time can be viewed as “a social practice—an integrative practice, vital for the coherence of social life, for holding together most, if not all, of the social practices of a society” (ibid:12). In a theocracy such as Saudi Arabia, social synchronization has a specifically religious nature meaning that this dimension controls almost every aspect of how the daily life of individuals is organised and how all social practices are scheduled.

The examples below (Extracts 4.1.2a-d) show that for these Saudi Muslims, the routines of religious observance frame the structure of the day to such an extent that they serve as a commonly understood point of reference for measuring time in relation to secular social and domestic activities without any need for using ‘clock time’. This salat (prayer)- centred temporal framework is used as the basis for arranging everything from family meal times to shopping trips. It is important to note here that this religio-social synchronization can also be said to be grounded in natural synchronization since obligatory prayers for Muslims are timed to be spread over the course of a day, from sunrise to evening.

It can also be argued on the basis of evidence found in the data collected that the prevalence of this religio-social synchronization of daily activities results not only in the construction of a moral order intended to construct an Islamic identity but that these same religious practices produce a social order that applies to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike in Saudi Arabia, as indicated by the example of the non-Saudi car driver who is actually a practising Hindu but has learnt to arrange his activities according to salat times. This illustrates the power of religion in a country like Saudi Arabia that applies sharia law where this effectively becomes the organizing principle for the daily activities of all those living in the Kingdom.

As might be expected, given that salat is a compulsory duty for Muslims, and one which for males must ideally be performed in jama’ah i.e. as part of a congregation in the mosque as a collective act of worship, there were frequent examples in the data showing how daily activities, including family meals and shopping, need to be scheduled around prayer times:

Extract 4.1.2a BM 1 ؟ﺶﺘﻤﻋ ﺖﯿﺑ حوﺮﻧ ﻰﺘﻣ ﺶﺗﻮﺑا ﻊﻣ ﻲﺘﺒﺗر

ratabtī ma‘a ibūch mita nrūḥ bait ‘amich?

did you arrange with your father when we’re going to your uncle’s house?

BD2 2 ﻊﻠﻄﻧ وبﺮﻐﻤﻟا ةﻼﺻ ﻦﻣ ﻊﺟﺮﯾ ﺎﻣ لوا لﻮﻘﯾ يأ

eī yigūl awal ma yirja‘ min salat ilmaghrib w niṭla‘

yes he says as soon as he’s returned from maghrib [sunset] prayer we’ll leave

Extract 4.1.2a is the first example selected to illustrate how the management of time is based on social synchronization with a religious practice, in this case specifically maghrib prayer which forms part of salat. This extract from the discussion between BM and BD2 (the mother and her daughter) reveals how an ordinary social activity such as arranging a visit to a close relative (“when we’re going to your uncle’s house” line 1) must be synchronized with the timing of a religious activity: the visit can only take place after the head of the household has returned from finishing maghrib prayer (line 2). The daughter’s response in this case indicates this temporal synchronization by including the use of the time clause “as soon as” (line 2). Note here that the time reference originally used by the

father to indicate when they will depart i.e. immediately after he has prayed maghrib, and the daughter’s relaying of this information to her mother without any further explanation suggests the frequency of the use of religious time rather than secular clock time for planning social activities. In this instance, it is clear that both mother and daughter have a shared understanding of the time that maghrib takes place and also that this prayer will be performed by this male family member outside the home in the mosque.

In Extract 4.1.2b, another family activity—the time at which lunch is to be eaten— is also governed by religio-social synchronization arranged in reference to salat. In this example, AF is telling his wife when to schedule lunch. Once again in this example, the time reference used for a social activity (eating family lunch) is to a religious activity, salatal- juma‘a, i.e. Friday prayer, which takes the form of a collective act of worship at the mosque. In this extract, AF simply refers to ‘al-juma‘a’, not even thinking that it is necessary to preface this with ‘salat’ since he knows that his meaning will be clear to his wife. This again suggests the frequency with which religious practices are used as a temporal frame of reference for social activities in this religiously observant family and among Saudis more generally.

Another issue which merits discussion here in the context of religio-social synchronization of time is that of gender and power. It can noted that in both Extracts 4.1.2a and 4.1.2b, the timing of social activities is synchronised with male religious practices i.e. when the men in the household have finished praying since they are urged by Islam to perform salat in the mosque. This suggests a power element in the fact that in this context males effectively decide when social activities are to be performed. According to Van Leeuwen (2008:4), the “right to time has always been a sign of absolute power”. In Extract 4.1.2b, the reference to the timing of lunch is realized by a verbal process clause (“return from [performing] juma‘a”) spoken by an authoritative figure (AF the father) with the timing of the activity as the projected clause (“I want to […] find lunch on the table”). He also acts as the spokesman for other males in the household (“the boys and I”). However, for the purposes of politeness, the order that AF addresses to his wife is mitigated by the fact that he prefaces it with a formulaic religious expression: “May Allah bless you with good health” thus reducing its authoritarian intensity. In summary, the two examples discussed here reveal not only that both moral and social order are synchronized with reference to religious activities but also that this synchronization has a gender-related aspect since the timing of the performance of salat for males in the mosque effectively gives them authority to control when social activities

relating to the whole household take place.

Extract 4.1.2b

AF 85 ةﺮﻔﺴﻟا ﻲﻠﻋ اﺪﻐﻟا ﻲﻗﻼﻧ و لﺎﯿﻌﻟا و ﺎﻧاﺔﻌﻤﺠﻟا ﻦﻣ ﻊﺟﺮﻧ ﻲﺒﻧ ﺶﺘﯿﻓﺎﻌﯾ ﷲ

allah ya’afiīch nabī nirja‘ min iljim‘a ana wil ‘iyal w nilga ilghada ‘ala ilsifrah

may Allah bless you with good health the boys and I want to return from jum‘a ((Friday prayer)) and find lunch on the table

Extract 4.1.2c provides another example of how the management of the timing of social activities is religiously synchronized in accordance with prayer times. This extract is taken from a dialogue between two sisters (BD1 and BD2) who are making plans to go to their local shopping centre and BD2 is clearly eager to ensure that they arrive before the shops close. In this case, the scheduling of their shopping trip is realized by using a main clause (“we want to go out”) and a time clause (“immediately after prayer”). Note here that the speaker does not specify which prayer she means, simply referring to salah, but based on the time of the recording and the context of the discussion, this is likely to be asr which must be performed in the mid part of the afternoon. The fact that BD2 does not need to specify to her interlocutor which prayer she is referring to or have to explain to her that the religious duty of performing prayer must be factored into their plans for a shopping trip is evidence of their shared understanding of the extent to which prayer times set the rhythm of the day in Saudi Arabia and condition the organization of social life. BD2 also makes it clear to her sister that the only flexibility they have relates to the time at which they begin to pray.

Extract 4.1.2c

BD2 124 ﺎﻣ ﺪﻌﺑلﻮط ﻲﻠﻋ ﻲﻠﺼﻧ تﻼﺤﻤﻟا ﻰﻠﻋ ﻖﺤﻠﻧ نﺎﺸﻋ ﺮﺧﺎﺘﻧ ﻻةﻼﺼﻟا ﺪﻌﺑ لﻮط ﻰﻠﻋ ﻊﻠﻄﻧ ﻲﺒﻧ ةﺰھﺎﺟ ﺶﺗﺎﺒﻋ ﻲﻠﺧ نذﺎﯾ nabī niṭla‘ ‘ala ṭūl ba‘ad ilsalah la nita’akhar ‘ashan nilḥag ‘ala ilmaḥalat nsalī ‘ala ūl ba‘ad ma ya’adhin khalī ‘abatich jahzah

we want to go out immediately after prayer. We don’t want be late so that we can catch the shops ((while they’re still open)) Let’s pray immediately after adhan ((the call to prayer)) Have your abaya ((cloak)) ready

In Saudi Arabia, all shops are closed at prayer times, meaning that effectively the time frame for secular commercial activities must be adjusted to conform with that imposed

by religious ritual and this affects all citizens, Muslim or not. This religio-social synchronization is illustrated in Extract 4.1.2d in which the female speaker (BD1) is explaining to her sister (BD2) why it was not possible to return the clothes that she had bought to the shop. The driver she refers to here acts as a chauffeur for the family, a relatively common occurrence in urban areas of the Kingdom. It was also possible to glean from elsewhere in their conversation that this driver is not a Muslim which may go some way to explaining why he appeared to be unaware about the synchronization of commercial activities with prayer times.

Extract 4.1.2d

BD1 نﻮﺤﺘﻔﯾ ﺎﻣ ﺪﻌﺑ ﻊﺟﺮﯿﺑ وةﻼﺼﻟا نﺎﺸﻋ ﻞﻔﻘﻣ هﺎﻘﻟ و ﻞﺤﻤﻟاﺲﺑﻼﻤﻟا ﻊﺟﺮﯾ حار قاﻮﺴﻟا

ilsawag raḥ yiraji‘ ilmalabis ilmaḥal w ligah mgafil ‘ashan ilsalah w bīrja‘ha ba‘ad ma yiftaḥūn

The driver went to return the clothes to the shop and found it closed for prayer and he’ll go back after they re-open

Extracts 4.1.2a-d provide evidence of the shared cultural understanding among Saudis concerning how the timing of social activities must be organized around prayer times, a form of what is referred to here as religio-social synchronization. This is indicated in the first three extracts by the fact that none of the participants in the conversation asks for the interlocutor to be more precise about the timing of the proposed social activity (such as visiting relatives, eating lunch, or going shopping) by providing a specific ‘clock time’, due to their shared knowledge about the link between religious routines and secular activities. The existence of this insider knowledge is emphasised by the fact that in Extract 4.1.2d the only individual who is apparently temporally disoriented is the family driver, a non-Muslim foreigner, who fails to understand that commercial activity is also governed by prayer times.

Another feature of the language used in Extracts 4.1.2a-c is the fact that speakers often follow their time expressions with phrases that imply urgency such as “as soon as he’s returned from maghrib”, “immediately after prayer/after adhan” or “we don’t want to be late, so that we can catch the shops”. This reflects the social reality in Saudi Arabia that the time span between prayers is often very limited and these examples indicate that the religio-social synchronization created by obligatory performance of prayer is a recurrent feature of life for Saudi Muslims.