An ʿaqīdah is an Islamic creed or creedal statement; the plural, ʿaqāʾid ("articles of belief"), is used in a similar sense. Since there is no Islamic body corresponding to the Christian ecumenical councils, Islamic creeds do not have the official status of the Christian creeds and thus are not used liturgically. What might be regarded as an exception to these assertions is the Shahādah, or confession of faith ("There is no deity except God; Muḥammad is the messenger of God"), which is universally accepted by Muslims and is repeated in the formal worship or prayers (ṣalāt). The Shahādah is not generally regarded as an ʿaqīdah, however, though it might be considered the basis of all later creeds. The terms ʿaqīdah and ʿaqāʾid are applied to works of greatly varying length, ranging from those with fewer than a...