What is the difference between aqidah (creed), i'tiqad (belief), and mu'taqad (object of belief), and is it obligatory for every accountable individual to have a creed?

In language, 'aqidah' (creed) is that upon which the heart is bound, whether good or corrupt. Technically, it is every unseen report that came from Allah or His Messenger, and which is not related to a practical legal ruling, such as news of the Hereafter, Paradise, Hellfire, and the torment of the grave. As for 'i'tiqad' (belief), it is the verbal noun of 'i'taqada' (to believe), and 'mu'taqad' (that which is believed) can be either a mim-source noun or a passive participle. A Muslim must believe that which Allah has made obligatory upon him.