“Were it not for you, I would not have created the universe.”
Question

 
I have got a question regarding a hadeeth (prophetic narration). How sound is the hadeeth that states, that were it not for Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Allah would not have created this world?
To be honest I am a bit suspicious about this hadeeth, could you shed some light on the matter?
Praise be to Allah.Many false and fabricated ahadeeth (narrations) have been narrated that say similar things. For example: 
“Were it not for you, I would not have created the universe.” 
This was quoted by al-Shawkani in al-Fawaid al-Majmoo’ah fi’l-Ahadeeth al-Mawdoo’ah (p. 326). He said:  
Al-San’ani said: (it is) mawdoo’ (fabricated). 
Al-Albani said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (282): (it is) mawdoo’. 
Another example is the hadeeth narrated by al-Hakim according to which Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 
“Allah revealed to ‘Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him): ‘O ‘Eesa, believe in Muhammad, and tell whoever you meet of your ummah (followers) to believe in him. For were it not for Muhammad, I would not have created Adam, and were it not for Muhammad, I would not have created Paradise and Hell. I created the Throne over the water and it would not settle until I wrote on it, La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).” 
Al-Hakim said: its isnad (chain of narration) is saheeh! But al-Thahabi commented on this and said: I believe it is fabricated and falsely attributed to Sa’eed. 
Meaning, Sa’eed ibn Abu ‘Aroobah (one of the narrators of this hadeeth). This hadeeth was narrated from him by ‘Amr ibn Aws al-Ansari, who is the one who is accused of fabricating it. Al-Thahabi mentioned him in al-Meezan where he said: “He produced a munkar (rejected) report,” then he quoted this hadeeth, and said, “I believe that it is mawdoo’ (fabricated).” Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar agreed with him, as it says in al-Lisan. 
Al-Albani said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (280): There is no basis for it. 
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: 
Is the hadeeth which some people quote – “Were it not for you, Allah would not have created the Throne or the Kursiy (lit. Footstool) or the earth or the heavens or the sun or the moon or anything else” saheeh or not? 
He replied:
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the leader of the sons of Adam (peace be upon him), and the best and noblest of creation, hence some people say that Allah created the universe because of him, or that were it not for him, Allah would not have created the Throne or the Kursiy or the earth or the heavens or the sun or the moon. 
But this hadeeth that is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is neither saheeh (sound) nor da’eef (weak), and it was not narrated by any scholar in a hadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Neither was it known from the Sahabah/Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Rather it is the words of one who is unknown. 
Majmoo’ al-Fatawa, 11/86-96. 
The Standing Committee was asked: 
Can it be said that Allah created the heavens and the earth for the purpose of creating the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? What is the meaning of the hadeeth, “Were it not for you the universe would not have been created,” and does this hadeeth have any basis? 
They replied: 
The heavens and the earth were not created for the sake of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), rather they were created for the purpose which Allah mentions (interpretation of the meaning): 
“It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in (His) Knowledge.” [65:12] 
As for the hadeeth mentioned, it is falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and has no sound basis. 
Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah, 1/312 
Shaykh Ibn Baz was asked about this hadeeth and he said: 
The answer is that this was transmitted from the words of some of the common people who have no understanding. Some people say that the world was created for the sake of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and were it not for Muhammad the world would not have been created and mankind would not have been created. This is false and has no basis, and these are corrupt words. Allah created the world so that He would be known and worshipped. He created the world and He created mankind so that His names and attributes, His power and knowledge, would be known and so that He alone would be worshipped with no partner or associate, and so that He would be obeyed – not for the sake of Muhammad or for the sake of Nooh or Moosa or ‘Eesa or any other Prophet (peace be upon them all). Rather Allah created the universe so that He alone would be worshipped, with no partner or associate.
 Fatawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, 46.
 And Allah knows best.