What is the anomalous recitation, and is it acted upon?

Question : He asks: What is the anomalous recitation? Is it what exceeds the seven or ten recitations? And is it acted upon?

Answer : The anomalous recitation, they say, is what departs from the ten recitations, and some say it is what departs from the seven, because the seven are mass-transmitted, and whatever contradicts them is anomalous. As for acting upon it, if it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is obligatory to act upon it. The correct view is that it is permissible to recite with it, even in prayer. For example, the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud regarding fasting for three consecutive days; this is what the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) chose, and it is the truth. If it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), even if not through the path of the seven or ten, it is the truth, to be recited and acted upon.