Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:163

"And your God is one God..."

"One God" Unique in divinity; He has no partner therein, and it is not valid for anyone else to be called a god.

"There is no god but He" An affirmation of Oneness by negating others and establishing Him.

"The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" The Master of all blessings, both their foundations and their branches. Nothing else possesses this attribute, for everything other than Him is either a blessing or a recipient of a blessing.

It is said that the polytheists had three hundred and sixty idols around the Kaaba. When they heard this verse, they were astonished and said, "If you are truthful, then bring us a sign by which we may know your truthfulness," and so [the following verse] was revealed.