A shaykh from the people of hadith called Ahmad b. al-Hasan al-Qattan, known as Abi `Ali b. `Abd Rabbih al-`Adl narrated this hadith to us. He said: Abu’l `Abbas Ahmad b. Yahya b. Zakariyya al-Qattan narrated to us. He said: Bakr b. `Abdullah b. Habibi narrated to us. He said: Muhammad b. Ishaq al-Kufi al-Ju`fi narrated to us. He said: Ibrahim b. `Abdullah al-Sajzi Abu Ishaq narrated to us from Yahya b. al-Husayn al-Mashhadi from Abi Harun al-`Abdi from Rabi`a al-Sa`di. He said:

I asked Ibn `Abbas about the saying of Allah, “By the star when it fades away” (53:1) He said: It is the [shooting] star that came down with the rise of Fajr into the room of `Ali b. Abi Talib. My father al-`Abbas liked for that [shooting] star to fall into his house in order to possess the deputyship, vicegerency, and Imamate. However, Allah refused that for anyone other than `Ali b. Abi Talib , and that is the favour of Allah, who gives it to whomever He pleases.