What is the meaning of Allah’s love for His servants, and is it like a mother’s love for her children, and is it a real love or a reward for deeds?

Love is an attribute ثابت to Allah Almighty, established by the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the consensus of the predecessors (Salaf). It is among the voluntary attributes, like wrath and pleasure, and does not resemble the love of created beings. There is nothing in Allah’s attributes that resembles the attributes of His creation. The name of Allah, "Al-Wadud" (the Most Loving), means that He loves His servants, and they love Him. What the later scholars (mutakhkhirun) mentioned—that Allah's love means satisfaction, honor, and reward—is a clarification of the implications of love, not an interpretation of it. Love is a real attribute of Allah, the essence of which we do not comprehend. To say that it needs definition is to clarify the obvious, because it cannot be defined by anything clearer than itself, and definitions only make it more obscure. A Muslim should strive to acquire the means that lead to this love, such as supererogatory acts (nawafil) after obligatory prayers, and being characterized by the qualities that Allah loves.