691 – Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Prices soared in Madinah during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The people therefore said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, prices have gone up; fix the prices for us.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, ‘Indeed it is Allah who sets the prices, who withholds, who expands, who provides. I hope to meet Allah the Exalted while none of you can charge me with any wrongdoing concerning life or property.’” Narrated by the Five compilers except al-Nasāʾī, and Ibn Ḥibbān declared it sound. (1)

Degree of authenticity
This hadith is ṣaḥīḥ when all its transmission routes are considered together.
At-Talkhīṣ states: “It was reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, al-Dārimī, and al-Bazzār through the chain of Ḥammād ibn Salamah → Thābit al-Bunnī → Anas; its isnād meets Muslim’s conditions, and it was graded sound by Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Tirmidhī.”

Supporting reports
1 – The narration of Abū Hurayrah, recorded by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd with a good isnād.
2 – A second narration from Anas, recorded by Ibn Mājah and al-Bazzār, also with a good isnād.
3 – The narration of ʿAlī, recorded by al-Bazzār.
4 – The narration of Ibn ʿAbbās, recorded by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Ṣaghīr.

Key vocabulary
• ghalā al-siʿr (prices soared): the verb is ghalā – yaghlu; the noun is ghalāʾ (with a fatḥa on the ghayn and an extended alif) and refers to a price rising above the customary amount.