Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
However, it has not been reported, either in the Quran or in the Sunnah, that a Muslim needs to prostrate (make sujud) after prayers, rather he is asked just to make duaa.
Answering your question, Dr. Wael Shihab, PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University and currently the Imam of the Downtown Toronto Masjid in Canada, states:
In the devotional matters (`ibadat), we are required to follow the Quran and the Sunnah. We are not allowed to invent new practices while believing and promoting them as acts of worship.
Duaa after performing prayers is recommended and will be responded to by Allah Almighty. However, it has not been reported, either in the Quran or in the Sunnah, that a Muslim needs to prostrate (make sujud) after prayers, rather he is asked just to make duaa.
Also, a Muslim should not insist on doing this regularly as a form of worship. Otherwise, by doing so, he would be contradicting the Sunnah and may be considered a sinful.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.