Question Summary:
I Have An Uncomfortable Feeling While In Congregational Ṣalāh Regarding Touching The Person Next To Me

Question Detail:

I have some serious about praying in congregation in masjid. I dont know what has happened to me, since I came back from Umrah, (my first umrah) 2 months ago. this nervousness/hesitation/uncomfortable feeling has increased.
this really making me hard to pray and sometime it made me embarrassed.
* one day I was late for salah asr, missed 2 rakahs, and while praying (when standing,in sujood and tashahhud my body touches means my right and left arm/legs/feet , with person who is on right or left side i feel  nervousness/hesitation/uncomfortable and I am sure it affects the other person too. ) and then what happened, when imam said Salam, and we standed up to pray 2 missed rakahs, the person on my right moved backwards. on behind saf, i felt so bad inside... that what is this?
* This same happened to me in another masjid i was praying asr, and man on my left side moved backwards on behind saf.
* one day i was praying maghrib i was late, i went sujood then the person on right side, while getting up from sujood he slowed down and broke his prayer and went to other side of where I was praying ( I am not really sure that whether he went on other side, or went to make wudu.. but I felt he went on other side of where i was praying)
* now I really afraid to pray, and whenever i stand to pray I make sure I have enough space so my body will not touch anyone.
* is this some sexual problem? or some waswasaas from shaytaan? Please I need solution to heal this problem.
* I feel this feeling in heart, and loses control on myself and concentration from prayer.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
There was no reason to feel bad in the incidents that have occurred. All those feelings are waswasās (evil promptings) from Shayṭān by which he makes you lose concentration in Ṣalāh and focus on things out of Ṣalāh. You should never worry about what the person next to you in Ṣalāh does or where he goes.
The solution to heal your problem is for you to ignore those that are standing on your sides while performing Ṣalāh in congregation. Focus solely on your Ṣalāh and keep your gaze in front of you. If you begin to worry about the person next to you, immediately turn your attention back to your Ṣalāh and concentrate on the recitation of the Imām, and if the Imām is reciting softly, think that you are standing in front of Allah Taʿālā. By doing this, you will soon be able to totally ignore the feeling that you are in contact with the person next to you.
Furthermore, when performing Ṣalāh in congregation, you should not leave a space between yourself and the person next to you while in the standing posture. In fact, before Ṣalāh, you should make sure that your arms are in contact with the arms of the person on each side of you. Thereafter, you should not think again about your arms being in contact with the arms of the person next to you. Only while in Sajdah you should not stretch your arms wide, but rather keep them restricted to yourself.
And Allah Taʿālā Knows Best
Mahmood Patel
Student, Darul Iftaa
Azaadville, South Africa
Checked and Approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai