﴿He originates﴾—without specifying what He originates—means that He originates everything and restores everything. Thus every affair is in His hand, Glorified and Exalted is He. So know, O servant, where you came from and that you began from nothing. Know your end and final destination, and know that your final destination is with Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
﴿And He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Loving.﴾ ﴿The All-Forgiving﴾ means the Possessor of forgiveness. Forgiveness means concealing a sin and pardoning it. It is not merely concealing the sin, but concealing it and not taking the sinner to task for it. As stated in the authentic hadith: “Allah will take His believing servant aside on the Day of Resurrection and make him acknowledge his sins until he admits and confesses them. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, will then say: ‘I concealed them for you in this world, and today I forgive you for them.’” (1)
It is related that whenever one of the Children of Israel committed a sin, he would find it written upon the door of his house, to his disgrace and shame (2). As for us, praise be to Allah, He has concealed our sins. We must therefore repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness for sin so that its effects may be erased. Hence He says: ﴿And He is the All-Forgiving﴾—the One who conceals His servants’ sins and pardons them.
﴿The Most Loving﴾ is derived from wudd, meaning pure love. Allah—Glorious and Exalted—is al-Wadūd (the Most Loving). This means that He is both beloved and loving, encompassing both senses. Allah Most High says: ﴿O you who believe, whoever among you turns back from his faith, Allah will bring forth a people He loves and who love Him.﴾ [al-Mā’idah: 54].
He—Glorious and Exalted—is loving: He loves deeds, individuals, and places. He is also beloved, and His close servants love Him. ﴿Say, “If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you.”﴾ [Āl Imrān: 31]. The more closely a person follows the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—the more Allah loves him. Thus Allah—Glorious and Exalted—is both loving and beloved: He loves and is loved. He—Mighty and Majestic—loves deeds and those who perform them, and He loves individuals, meaning that Allah’s love may attach to a particular individual