The Maliki madhab stresses that the worshiper looks towards the qibla at all times during salah, this is the mashur (majority) opinion within the madhab.
Here is the list of proofs that the malikiyyah bring forward.
*the first proof is the quran verse.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, “…wheresoever you people are, turn your faces in the direction of Al-Masjid al-Haram.”*
Imam qurtubi in his tafsir states that ****"In this verse is clear proof for what Malik and those who agreed with him that the worshiper should look in front of him, not at the place of his prostration."
The second proof is from the authentic narration in which the prophet SAW taught the bedouin how to pray he said
"stand up until you are standing straight".*
Ibn Al arabi states: "so if one looks down to the place of prostration he will neglect standing up straight in prayer with his head (faced down) (And Standing up straight is considered an obligation in salah)
He also states that if one was to keep there head straight but straign they're sight towards the ground, this would cause discomfort. And nothing is made to be difficult within islam.
Other hadiths include,
- There is a hadith where the Prophet (sallahu alayhi was-sallam) was praying and he was looking ahead to see if the expedition that he was expecting had returned.
- The incident where the Prophet (sallahu alayhi was-sallam) grabbed a jinn in front of him during prayer.
- The time when Jerusalem was displayed in front of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi was-sallam) during prayer. 4.the report of the prophet going into sajda and the sahaba looking and waiting for his head to touch the ground before they followed.
- Multiple sahih narrations in which the prophet stood up straight.
- The report of the companion about the recitation of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi was-sallam) due to the movement of his beard. The above indicate that it is not possible for the praying person to fix his gaze at the place of prostration and still have those above mentioned events happen.
Juzakhullah, and hope this helps.