Book 9, Number 9.15.49:

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abd al-Karim ibn Abi’l-Mukhariq al-Basri said, “Among things the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said and did are: ‘As long as you do not feel ashamed, do whatever you wish’, the placing of one hand on the other in prayer (one places the right hand on the left), being quick to break the fast, and delaying the meal before dawn.”

Book 9, Number 9.15.50:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar that Sahl ibn Sad said, “People used to be ordered to place their right hands on their left forearms in the prayer.”

Abu Hazim added, “I know for sure that Sahl traces that back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

“Praise be to Allaah.

It was narrated that Sahl ibn Sa’d said: the people used to be instructed to place the right hand over the left forearm when praying. (narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 740)

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “We Prophets have been commanded to delay our suhoor and to break our fast straight away, and to place our right hands over our left hands when praying.” (narrated by Ibn Hibbaan in al-Saheeh, 3/13-14).

From these two ahaadeeth it is clear to us that the one who puts his hands by his sides in prayer is making a mistake. Putting the right hand over the left hand is the teaching of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and of the Prophets who came before him.

(See Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/202)

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said:

Nothing to the contrary has been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and this is the view of the majority of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een. This is what was mentioned by Maalik in al-Muwatta’, and Ibn al-Mundhir and others did not narrate any differing view from Maalik… (See al-Fath, 2/224; Nayl al-Awtaar, 2/201)

The Maalikis said, concerning the report about holding one hand with the other in fard and naafil prayers, that this is the more correct meaning, because people were commanded to do this during the earliest generations (See al-Qawaaneen, 65).

What is well-known from the later books of the Maalikis is that it is recommended for the worshipper to place the hands below the chest and above the navel, in both naafil and fard prayers. If a person does this with the intention of following the Sunnah, or with no specific intention,this is fine, but if his intention is to lean on his hands or find a more comfortable position by putting one hand on top of the other, then this is makrooh.

Al-Baaji, one of the prominent Maalikis, said: “It may be that Maalik said that placing one hand on top of the other is makrooh because he was afraid that the common people would believe that this was one of the esential pillars of the prayer and that prayer would be invalid if one did not do this.”

Anyone who thinks about this matter will realize for certain that they all acknowledge that the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is for the worshipper to place his hands on his front, not to hold them by his sides. Whatever Imaam Maalik said about holding the hands by one’s side – if indeed the reports from him are saheeh – was only to counteract an action that was not prescribed in the Sunnah, which was leaning on the hands, or an incorrect belief, i.e., the belief of the common people that this was obligatory. It was said that when Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) refused to accept the position of qaadi (judge), he was beaten, and he could not put his hands on his chest when praying, so he held them by his sides because of the pain. Some of those who saw that thought this was Sunnah so they transmitted this from him. But he (may Allaah have mercy on him) definitely did not say that the arms should be held by one’s side at all. This is a misunderstanding of some written statement and it goes against what he stated clearly in al-Muwatta’ about the right hand being placed on top of the left. This was explained by a group of Maalikis and others, in various books which number approximately thirty, apart from what is mentioned in various commentaries.

Moreover, if it were proven that Maalik did hold his arms by his side for no reason, which is more deserving of being followed, the actions and words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as mentioned in the ahaadeeth quoted above, or the words of Imaam Maalik?

Every seeker of the truth will follow the Sunnah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and give it priority over the views of anyone else.

And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
http://islamqa.info/en/6109“

As Salamu Alaikum. I do not believe that any way of performing salah be it Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanabli and even Wahabi is correct. The way of performing salah has gone under many modifications. That is why, we should carry out research and discover the only one way what prophet (pbuh) did at his last life. That must be the perfect way of performing. Otherwise we will be involved in unnecessary debate. Moreover fatwa based on Abu Hurrairah’s hadiths should not be considered because he stayed with Prophet(pbuh)only for 4.5 years in his mid prophetic life and he did not meet again. As a result he missed with lots of updated and new hadiths. Sorry brothers, if I hurt someone, it is my personal opinion.

actually in kufa when ali ra was the fourth calipha he led the prayer in the hanafi fiqh ways many times, prophet muhammad saw and his sahaba ra didnt alwyas pray int he same style allah revealed to his messenger saw the different ways to perform salah, if the hadith is sahih then why are we fighting on which method i the best

that alone shows no method of salah is the best it has all been revealed by allah and we use the ones revealed by allah and just do it its not a matter to argue on

if in quran and sunnah follow it if not dont

both are acceptable inshallah prophet muhammad saw prayed in many different styles and so did the four caliphas inshallah

“what’s common among most of the Sahaba and Madahib is the placement of the hand on the chest area” is not supported by evidence. Most Sahaba lived in Madina and it is known fact that people of Madina practiced Sadl.