وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ - Be polite and cautious

Arabic language always fascinates me for being so rich in its meaning. I love the fact that we have to use a lot of terms to explain one Arabic word.

Anyway, I was reading surah Al-Kahf today and I came across the word وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ . It reminded me of the time when we studied its explanation in class and I just felt the need to share it with everyone.

وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ is right in the middle of Quran with an amazing advice for all of us, umm okay, may be two. The root word is  ل ط ف , which means:

1- To be thin, delicate, refined, to do something with proper planning, to know the complication of all affairs

2- To be polite, gentle, courteous, kind

and the meaning of the word وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ used in surah Al-Kahaf is, let him be polite, let him behave with great care, let him behave with caution, let him be courteous.

So you know, 2 rules:

1- Be cautious

IN ALL MATTERS. During exams, while driving, at workplace, while fulfilling any assigned responsibility, when dealing with people

2- Be gentle

WITH EVERYONE. Whether your parents, children, siblings, teachers, students, service providers, guards, drivers, maids, strangers, colleagues, boss, sub-ordinate, ANYONE

Simple as that.