In the sajdah we have to keep our hand away hands away from our body for it is sunnah of the Prophet Alais-Salaam, but during the congregation we have to stand shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot, when we stand such, we are not able to keep our hands away from our body, so shaykh is it permissible to not keep our hands away when in congregation?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The Sunnah is to keep the arms away from one’s sides when
prostrating, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (828) from Abu
Humayd al-Saa‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) which describes the prayer
of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): When he
prostrated, he placed his hands (on the ground) without sticking the arms
out or tucking them close (to himself).
“tucking them close (to himself)” means pressing them against
his sides.
Fath al-Baari, 2/302
It was narrated that Maymoonah bint al-Haarith (may Allah be
pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) prostrated, he kept his arms so far apart that the
whiteness of his armpits could be seen from behind. Narrated by Muslim
(497).
According to another hadeeth narrated by Muslim (496): When
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prostrated, if a lamb
wanted to pass beneath his arms, it could.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What this means
is that he held his elbows and upper arms away from his sides. End quote.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is Sunnah to keep the upper arms away from the sides and
the stomach away from the thighs when prostrating, because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to do that when he
prostrated. Abu ‘Abd-Allah said in his Risaalah: It is narrated that
when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prostrated, if a
lamb wanted to pass beneath his arms, it could do so. That is because of the
great extent he went to in lifting his elbows and upper arms. End quote.
Al-Mughni, 1/306
Ibn al-Muneer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The wisdom
behind it is so that each part should stand by itself and be distinct from
others, so that when prostrating one person will appear as several. That
means that every part of his body is independent and does not rest on others
when he prostrates. End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 4/200
This position when bowing is Sunnah and is not obligatory,
according to scholarly consensus. Whoever does that will be rewarded;
whoever does not do it when he is able to do it is not sinning by not doing
it, even though he is missing out on doing the Sunnah.
Moreover, there is the condition that this should not lead to
any annoyance of one’s neighbours and it should not be in a situation where
it is difficult to hold the arms away from the body, as is usually the case
when praying in congregation. Whoever tries to do that – especially when the
row is tightly packed – will annoy his neighbour or make it difficult for
him.
It says in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘, 1/353:
It is Sunnah for the one who is prostrating to hold his upper
arms away from his sides and to hold his stomach away from his thighs and to
hold his thighs away from his calves… So long as he does not annoy the
person beside him by doing that, in which case he should not do it because
this causes annoyance, which is haraam, when doing that. End quote. See
al-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 3/90
Ends.
