This methodology (i.e. that of the Salaf) was what the people of al-Maghrib adhered to with regards to ʿAqīdah (creed/belief) and the scholars held an unyielding position concerning the people of al-Kalām (rhetorical and analogous argumentation) and ideologies.

The Hāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbdil-Barr (رحمه الله) mentioned this by stating, “There is consensus amongst the Scholars of Fiqh and Narrations (Hadīth) across the various regions that the people of Kalām are people of bidʿah (innovation) and misguidance. According to them (the Scholars of Fiqh and Ḥadīth), they are not considered to be from among the various ranks of the scholars. The scholars are those of the narrations (ḥadīth) and those who derive their understanding (fiqh) from these narrations. (The scholars) differ in this as to their respective levels of proficiency, discrepancy, understanding, etc.[1]

This is a brief glimpse into the ʿAqīdah of the Islamic al-Maghrib in the general sense as it concerns the first generations (of Muslims in the lands of al-Maghrib). Specifically regarding the ʿAqīdah of the people of the land of Shinqīṭ,[2] it went through several phases just like other regions of the Islamic world. However, the madhhab of the Salaf continued to be the prevalent methodology during the time of the Murābiṭīn (448-532 H).[3] After the demise of the rule of the Murābiṭīn, the ʿAqīdah of the Ashʿarīs became the prevalent belief and the madhhab of the Salaf (being the dominant belief) was relegated to a specific historical time frame.”[4]

[1] Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa Faḍlihi, (pg.117, v.2), Irshād al-Muqallidīn ʿinda Ikhtilāf al-Mujtahidīn, (pg.56).

[2] Shinqīt is an area of what is modern-day Mauritania.

[3] Al-Muʿjib fī Talkhīṣ Akhbār al-Maghrib, (pgs.202-203), al-ʿAlām, (pg.27, v.1).

[4] Irshād al-Muqallidīn ʿinda Ikhtilāf al-Mujtahidīn, (pg.57).