He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A group gathers to complete a recitation of the Quran, following the readings of ʿĀsim and Abū ʿAmr. Upon reaching Sūrat al-Duhā, they recite neither the tahlīl (“There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah”) nor the takbīr (“Allah is greatest”) through to the end of the recitation. Is their practice preferable or not? Is the hadith concerning the tahlīl and takbīr authentically established through mass transmission or not?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. Yes, when they follow a reading other than that of Ibn Kathīr, omitting these declarations is preferable; indeed, it is the prescribed practice established by the Sunnah. These leading Quran reciters did not recite the takbīr either at the beginnings or at the ends of the surahs.

If someone may say, “Ibn Kathīr transmitted the takbīr from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,” then another may equally say, “These reciters transmitted its omission from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” For it is inconceivable that those who transmitted the majority’s reading—more numerous than those who transmitted Ibn Kathīr’s reading—should have omitted from it something that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had commanded them to recite. Transmitters whose reports attain the level of mass transmission cannot be presumed to conceal something that there is ample motivation and reason to transmit. Thus, whoever considers it possible that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught the great majority of Quran reciters to recite an additional takbīr, but that they disobeyed the command of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,