[قال تعالى : [إِنَّ رَبِّي رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ ] وقال سبحانه في سورة البروج [وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ] وما ألطف اقتران اسم الودود بالرحيم؛ وبالغفور، فإن الرجل قد يغفر لمن أساء إليه ولا يُحبُّه، وكذلك قد يرحم من لا يُحِبُّ، والربُّ تعالى يغفر لعبده إذا تاب إليه؛ ويرحمه ويُحبُّه مع ذلك، فإنه: إن الله يحب التوابين ، وإذا تاب إليه عبده: أحبَّه؛ ولو كان منه ما كان . ـ]
Allah said:
[إِنَّ رَبِّي رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ]
"My Lord is certainly Merciful, Loving" [Hud 90]
and He said in surah al-Burooj:
[وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ]
"And He is Forgiving, Loving" [al-Burooj 14]
How kind it is for Allah to pair the name al-Wadood - Loving - with al-Raheem - Merciful - and al-Ghafoor - Forgiving! For a person might forgive someone who wronged him without loving him. Likewise, a person might show mercy to someone that he does not love. But the Lord forgives His slave when he turns to Him in repentance, shows mercy to him, and in addition to that He loves him, for Allah loves those who repent. When one of His servants repents to Him, He loves him, regardless of what he did.
[al-Tibyan fee Ayman al-Qur'an pg 146]