You will find some students of knowledge oppose following what is obligatory on them when they see 'a thread from their clothes falling below their ankles'

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Taken from Sharh Silsilah Taqreeb al-Asaaneed wa Tarteeb al-Masaaneed of Haafidh al-'Iraaqee, tape 8 [Minutes 16-20]

Shaykh AbdulKareem ibn Abdullah al-Khudayr [May Allaah Preserve him] was asked;

Many people, some of them students of knowledge, who pray in congregation stick to some of the Sunnan of the Salaah even though it creates harm for the person next to him by squashing him or making the space narrow for him, such as those who do Tawarruk, I hope you explain if you can explain if this is correct.

He [May Allaah Preserve him] replied to this by saying:

Trying to follow the Sunnah is a sign that this person has been guided. It is incumbent on everyone to learn what the Sunnan is and for us to be staunch in following it. The whole point of learning is for us to act upon it, so it is necessary for us to learn the Sunnan and it is likewise extremely important for us to know how to implement this Sunnan. It is not befitting for the Sunnah to lead to something which is impermissible or disliked; some people are not able to differentiate the difference between something they learn to be Sunnah and what is the opposite of the Sunnah that they are learning. Sometimes we see some people being very strict on making sure they attach themselves to the person they are praying next to or making sure that their feet is touching the one they are praying next to, without realizing the command of keeping the row straight. Some people realize that keeping row straight is necessary, making sure the feet touch each other, making sure that the ankles touch each other as the Companions did but they don’t know how they actually practiced it.

So we find that some people attach their feet with the one next to them but the ankles are far apart and likewise the shoulders are far apart, this isn’t Sunnah. The Sunnah is to be close with your feet and your shoulders. The point is that the shoulders and the feet must be in line with each other. Some people make the space for the person praying next to them very tight because they insist on attaching their foot to them whilst his shoulders are very broad; this is harmful for the person they are praying next to. And the opposite is also true, some people are far apart from the person they are praying next to, to the extent that there may be a hand span between the shoulders and feet of their neighbor. Neither of these are Sunnah, rather all the people praying must stand with their shoulders and feet level with each other and each attaches himself to his neighbor in this manner. We shouldn’t look at ones feet and neglect the shoulders and visa versa.

For those who want to follow the Sunnah properly is a sign that he has been guided but this person who is following the Sunnah must look at the person they are praying next to. We should be gentle with those who we pray with. Some people are very strict in making sure they touch the other person even if it is very little. Rather, you will find some students of knowledge oppose following what is obligatory on them when they see ' a thread from their clothes falling below their ankles'. This is being incredibly sensitive and the people may split of this! And we find some people, because they have been harmed by this, that they alienate themselves from the person next to them because of the harm that is caused by the nails on the others person foot. He won't attach his foot to the others. All of this is against the Sunnah.

So don’t harm your neighbor and try your best to practice the Sunnah as much as possible, and don’t fall into something prohibited because you are trying to practice a Sunnah. So it is upon us to analyze and understand on how to practice and implement the Sunnan.