For major Christian faiths, catechisms maintained by religious authorities are relatively concise summaries of their doctrine. (One example, from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, can be found here.) They are useful for launching deeper inquiry and providing basic knowledge to children, converts, and curious strangers.
Are there analogous (semi-)authoritative documents published in English by major Islamic institutions, useful for a stranger who wishes to gain basic knowledge? Wikipedia's page on catechisms mentions something called Ilm ul-Hal, but most of the high-ranking Google results for this term aren't in English.