1755/1 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “I asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) about looking around during prayer, and he said: ‘It is something which the devil snatches from a person’s prayer.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
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1) It is prohibited to look around during prayer without a valid reason, as this constitutes distraction by Satan.
2) Looking around during prayer include both the physical and mental aspects, as a person gets preoccupied with worldly affairs and distracted from prayer.
1756/2 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: “Beware of looking around in prayer, as looking around in prayer is destruction. If you must do so, then let it be in the voluntary prayer, not the obligatory one.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, he classified it as Hasan Sahīh (sound authentic] [4]
1) Looking around during prayer contradicts its very purpose of standing focused, humble, and humiliated before Allah Almighty.
2) The Hadīths that prohibit looking around during prayer speak in general terms. So, it is not permissible to look around during prayers in general, obligatory or supererogatory.
The Hadīth in question has a weak Isnād. That is why no Shariah ruling can be formed on its basis regarding the distinction between obligatory and supererogatory prayer when it comes to looking around. We have only taken some of the guidance contained therein, in line with this approach of ours: “If a weak Hadīth has roots in an authentic one, we adopt it.”
The prohibition of looking around during prayer is already reported in numerous authentic Hadīths. As for the additional part that says: “If you must do so, then let it be in the voluntary prayer, not the obligatory one”, its Isnād is weak. Accordingly, it is prohibited to look around during any prayer, obligatory or supererogatory, without distinction.