Is it valid to use the ḥadīth "Indeed, actions are by intentions" to justify certain reprehensible acts such as intermingling (free mixing of genders) and shaking hands with non-mahram women, under the pretext of not having an evil intention?
We worship Allah by sincerely dedicating our intentions to Him and by following the of the Prophet. Sincerity of intention is a realization of the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and following the Sunnah is a realization of the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Using the "Actions are but by intentions" as an excuse to commit sins is invalid, because intention does not transform sins into acts of obedience. Al-Ghazali and others stated that intention does not remove the forbidden from being an injustice, and there is no sincerity in something forbidden or disliked. Legitimate actions are: the obligatory, the recommended, and the permissible. As for the forbidden and the disliked, one does not draw closer to Allah Almighty through them.
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