The problem of stating false ahadeeth has become widespread in the Muslim community. There are numerous fabricated ahadeeth attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), that state, if you do such and such, you shall enter Paradise! These (fabricated) ahadeeth give people false hope. The truth of the matter is, there is no shortcut to Paradise! Muslims have to keep striving and hope and pray that Allah has mercy on them on the Day of Judgement.

The best thing to do when people quote random ‘ahadeeth’ and claim they are authentic is, to ask them for evidence, and then verify the evidence they present. If they present no or false evidence, then we should obviously not follow what they say. People who attribute sayings to Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) without verifying the authenticity of what they are saying should also be warned!

“And say not concerning that which your tongues put forth falsely: ‘This is lawful and this is forbidden,’ so as to invent lies against Allaah. Verily, those who invent lies against Allaah will never prosper. ” (An-Nahl 16:116)

“And what think those who invent lies against Allaah, on the Day of Resurrection? [i.e. Do they think that they will be forgiven and excused!] Truly, Allaah is full of Bounty to mankind, but most of them are ungrateful. ” (Yoonus 10:60)

Salamah ibn Al-Akwa` (radiyallaahu `anhu) and others narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever ascribes to me what I have not said, let him occupy his seat in the Hell-fire!”

And in another wording: “No one ascribes to me falsehood or what I have not said except that he shall occupy his seat in the Hell-fire.” Reported by Al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh (109). The second wording was authenticated by, `Abdul-Qaadir Al-Arnaa’oot (Sharh-uth-Thulaathiyyaat, 2/584/296), Shu`aib Al-Arna’oot (Musnad Ahmad, 27/56/524), Hikmat Basheer Yaaseen (Marwiyyaat Salamah ibn-il-Akwa`, p.69) and others.

The Prophet (ﷺ) has very severely warned us not to lie about him. And he (ﷺ) said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me that he thinks is false is one of the liars.” Narrated by Muslim.

A number of scholars are of the view that if someone deliberately lies about the Prophet (ﷺ) then that person is a kaafir. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) discussed this matter at length and mentioned the ruling on one who tells lies about the Prophet (ﷺ) verbally, the ruling on one who tells lies about him in a report and the ruling on one who narrates a hadeeth knowing it to be false. He was of the view that the one who tells lies about him verbally is a kaafir. He said in al-Saarim al-Maslool ‘Ala Shaatim il-Rasool (2/328-399), after quoting the hadeeth of Buraydah: 

A clan of Banu Layth in Madeenah was of two minds. A man had proposed marriage to one of their womenfolk during the Jaahiliyyah but they did not accept his proposal. He came to them wearing a hullah (a suit of clothing) and said: “The Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) gave me this hullah to wear and told me to rule over your wealth and your blood.” Then he went and stayed with that woman whom he loved. The people sent word to the Messenger of Allaah(ﷺ) and he said: “The enemy of Allaah is lying.” Then he sent a man and said: “If you find him alive – although I do not think that you will find him alive – then strike his neck (kill him). And if you find him dead then burn him with fire.” He said: This is what the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said concerning “one who tells lies about me deliberately.” Shaykh al-Islam said: “This is a saheeh isnaad according to the conditions of al-Saheeh and we do not find any fault in it.” 

If a person narrated a hadeeth knowing it to be false, this is haraam, as it was narrated in a saheeh hadeeth that the Prophet (ﷺ)said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me that he knows is false is one of the liars.” 

The liar deserves severe punishment. So, we must be very careful while narrating hadith. The Prophet(ﷺ) had very severely warned them.  The closest companion to Prophet (ﷺ) was Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him). Undoubtedly, he was the best companion, he accompanied the Prophet (ﷺ) so many times, he knew the Prophet (ﷺ) the most but we don’t have a lot of hadith narrated by him. Even he was scared to narrate a false hadith. The best of the companions they were also scared if they quoted a false hadith. Even Umar, Uthman and Ali (may Allaah be pleased with them), all of them refrained from quoting hadiths because they were scared that it might be false.  It is not correct to call any practice correct or incorrect unless we know for sure that it is not from the Quran or Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).

Finally, I would like to conclude this by the Ayah “And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allaah or denies the truth, when it comes to him?” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:68].

References 

Author not mentioned (13-04-2004). 34725: Ruling on one who tells lies about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

Retrieved from: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34725/ruling-on-one-who-tells-lies-about-the-prophet-peace-and-blessings-of-allaah-be-upon-him

References 

Author not mentioned (05-07-1998). 249: Celebrating Mawlid al-Nabi (Muhammad’s Birthday): Allowed?

Retrieved from: https://islamqa.com/en/answers/249/celebrating-mawlid-al-nabi-muhammads-birthday-allowed