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Practice (fiqh) is what a Muslim does. Aqeedah is what a Muslim believes — the foundation everything else stands on.
The clearest, most complete statement of Islamic belief comes from a single well-known hadith — the Hadith of Jibril — in which the angel Jibril, appearing to the Prophet ﷺ in the form of a man, asked him a series of questions in front of the companions, including what iman (faith) is:
أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَتُؤْمِنَ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ
"[Faith] is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree, its good and its bad."
Sahih Muslim 8
The same six are echoed in the Quran itself, most directly in the closing ayah of Surah al-Baqarah:
ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَقَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
"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.'"
The foundation of everything: that Allah alone is the Creator, Sustainer, and sole deserving object of worship — with no partners, no equals, and nothing resembling Him. This is tawheed, and it's the single most repeated theme in the Quran.
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
"Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.'"
Angels are created beings of light who don't disobey Allah and carry out specific tasks — Jibril brought revelation to the prophets, Mikail is tasked with rain and sustenance, and each person has angels recording their deeds. Believing in them is explicit in the ayah above (2:285), alongside belief in Allah, the books, and the messengers together.
Allah revealed scripture to various prophets across history — including the Tawrah (Torah) to Musa, the Zabur (Psalms) to Dawud, and the Injil (Gospel) to Isa — and finally the Quran to Muhammad ﷺ, which Muslims believe is preserved in its original form, unlike the earlier scriptures which were not preserved intact over time. See the Quran reader and the relevant Stories of the Prophets pages for more on each.
Allah sent prophets and messengers to every nation, calling people back to the worship of Allah alone — the same core message throughout, even as the details of law differed. Muhammad ﷺ is the last of them; no prophet will come after him.
مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًۭا
"Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing."
This life ends, and every person will be resurrected and held accountable — every deed weighed, nothing lost. It's the belief that gives ultimate meaning and consequence to everything a person does in this life.
يَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَصْدُرُ ٱلنَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًۭا لِّيُرَوْا۟ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ
"That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds."
Everything that happens — good and what appears to be bad — occurs by Allah's knowledge and permission, already known to Him before it happens. This doesn't erase human free will or responsibility for one's own choices; it's held alongside it, not instead of it — a person still genuinely chooses, prays, and works, while trusting the outcome to Allah.
إِنَّا كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقْنَـٰهُ بِقَدَرٍۢ
"Indeed, all things We created with predestination."
مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍۢ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن نَّبْرَأَهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌۭ
"No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being — indeed that, for Allah, is easy."