Is prostration of recitation prescribed in prayer?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Does the one praying the obligatory prayer read when he reaches the verse of prostration, or does he prostrate at the prostration of recitation?

Answer:
Yes. If he is an imam or praying alone: if he is an imam in a prayer where the recitation is loud, and he reaches the verse of prostration, he prostrates and those behind him prostrate with him. Likewise, if he is praying alone in a loud or quiet prayer. As for the imam in a quiet prayer, he does not prostrate for the recitation because it causes confusion for those behind him; they think he has made a mistake because they did not hear the verse of prostration, so they assume he has erred, and this leads to confusion. Therefore, the scholars said that it is disliked for the imam in a quiet prayer to recite the verse of prostration and to prostrate for it, so as not to cause confusion for the congregation.