The Ashʿarī ʿAqīdah did not take root in al-Maghrib until the 6th century Hijrī. This was primarily because of the arrival of al-Mahdī Ibn Tūmart in the year 524 H. Ibn Tūmart ridiculed the people of al-Maghrib due to their non-adulteration of the (so-called) unclear texts and understanding them in light of their apparent, linguistic meaning. In addition, he forced al-Taʾwīl (distorting the texts and explaining them to mean something other than their apparent, linguistic connotation without evidence that the apparent meaning was not intended) upon them, as well as compelling them to adopt the Ashʿarī madhhab. In a similar fashion, he penned several treatises, both concise and in depth, and facilitated their dissemination until the Ashʿarī ideology widely emerged and later became the prevailing ideology. 

Amongst the reasons for the spread of the Ashʿarī ideology amid some of the scholars of al-Maghrib was the prominent scholar al-Bāqilānī (d.403 H), who was one of the foremost Ashʿarī scholars.  He played a prominent role regarding the people of al-Maghrib accepting the teachings of the Ashʿarī ideology and later transmitting it amongst their localities. This is because just as al-Bāqilānī was a prominent Ashʿarī, he was also the figurehead of the Mālikī scholars in the East. This was the motivating factor for numerous scholars of al-Maghrib to travel and obtain knowledge from him in Fiqh. Consequently, in addition to learning Fiqh from him, they also learned his Ashʿarī methodology in issues of creed or al-ʿAqīdah. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah alluded to this fact by stating, “The people of al-Maghrib would gather with al-Bāqilānī (in Makkah whilst he was teaching there) and would learn ḥadīth from him and this (i.e. al-Ashʿarī) ideology, as he would validate for them the foundations of the Ashʿarī ideology.”

1. Masāʾil al-ʿAqadiyah allati Khalafa fīhā Fuqahā ʾ al-Mālikīyah Aʾimmati al-Madhhab al-Mutaqaddimūn, (pgs. 45-46), Muqaddimah Qānūn al-Taʾwīl, Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Arabī, (pg. 40-41).