Is it true that reciting Surat Al-Baqarah for 40 days is an innovation (bid‘ah), as no hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) specified this number, and that it is a blessing and abandoning it is regret, without specifying a certain number?

Many hadiths have been narrated from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding the virtues of Surat Al-Baqarah. Among them is the hadith: «Recite Surat Al-Baqarah, for taking it is a blessing, and abandoning it is a regret, and the sorcerers cannot withstand it». And the hadith: «The Qur'an and its people who used to act upon it will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection, preceded by Surat Al-Baqarah and Al 'Imran… as if they were two clouds or two black canopies with a light in between them, or as if they were two flocks of birds in ranks, arguing on behalf of their reciter». However, no authentic hadith has been reported specifically regarding the virtue of reciting it for forty days.