Prostration of Recitation for the Teacher

Q: If I pass by a prostration verse while I am reading the Qur'an at my desk, or while I am teaching the students, or in any place, should I perform the prostration of recitation or not? And is the prostration for the reader and the listener?

A: The prostration of recitation is a recommended practice (sunnah) for the reader and the listener, and it is not obligatory. It is not prescribed for the listener except in following the reader; so if the reader prostrates, the listener prostrates. If you read the prostration verse at your desk or while teaching, what is prescribed for you is to prostrate, and it is prescribed for the students to prostrate with you, because they are listeners. And if you leave off the prostration, there is nothing wrong with it; because it is established from Zayd ibn Thabit that he recited Surat al-Najm to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not prostrate in it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not rebuke him for it. It is agreed upon that it is authentic.
And that is evidence that the prostration of recitation is not obligatory, and that for the listener, prostration is only prescribed if the reader prostrates. And Allah is the guarantor of success.