Short answer
Aqeedah means creed: the beliefs a Muslim holds firmly in the heart about Allah, His angels, books and messengers, the Last Day and the decree. Sound aqeedah is the foundation that worship and deeds are built on. Most Sunni Muslims, Hanafis among them, learn it through the Maturidi and Ash'ari schools of creed.
Hanafi and Deobandi institutions teach Sunni creed through the Maturidi school, named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, alongside the closely related Ash'ari school. Core texts are al-Fiqh al-Akbar attributed to Imam Abu Hanifa, al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya and al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The word comes from 'aqd, a knot tied tight. Aqeedah is what you have tied your heart to. Its outline is in the hadith of Jibril: faith (iman) is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree, its good and its bad. The Quran says the same of the believers: "All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers" (2:285).
Aqeedah is different from fiqh. Fiqh deals with actions: how to pray, fast and trade. Aqeedah deals with belief. In fiqh, Sunni Muslims follow one of four schools; in creed, Sunni scholars are grouped into the Maturidis, the Ash'aris and the Atharis. These three agree on the fundamentals: the oneness of Allah, His attributes, prophethood, the Hereafter and the decree. They differ on some details and methods, such as how to explain verses about Allah's attributes.
Imam al-Tahawi, a Hanafi scholar of Egypt, opened his famous creed by saying it sets out the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah according to Abu Hanifa and his two students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad. That short text is still the usual starting point in many Hanafi madrasas, followed by al-Nasafi's creed with its commentary.
To begin, learn the six articles of faith and the meaning of tawheed, shirk and kufr. Then see does iman increase and decrease?
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:285
ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَقَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ﴿٢٨٥﴾
The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."
Lists the core objects of belief.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:136
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَٱلْكِتَٰبِ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ وَٱلْكِتَٰبِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَٰلًۢا بَعِيدًا ﴿١٣٦﴾
O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.
Shows that denying these articles is disbelief.
Sahih Muslim 8
Sahih... أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَتُؤْمِنَ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ ...
"That you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers and the Last Day, and believe in the decree, its good and its bad."
The Prophet's own summary of aqeedah.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya, Opening lines. States that it presents the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah according to Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan.
- al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya with Sharh al-Taftazani, Introduction. A standard Maturidi creed text taught in Hanafi institutions.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.