The present study focuses on the madrasa al-Mourâdiya in Gafsa whose construction was commanded by Muhammad Bey al-Mourādī by the end of the seventeenth century AD. This madrasa is considered to be the first chief religious and educational monument built by Ottoman authority in Gafsa and the Jarîd region. Its obvious uniqueness and oddity was attributed to the importance of the habous real estate (endowment). Although these assets were confined to agricultural property, they were sufficient to maintain and restore the building to keep shining forever. In addition to that, they were utilized to pay off the salaries of employees and students.

The habous notarial fees and archive documents have enabled us to learn, in depth, about a number of key aspects and details related to the management of the school and its historical and architectural development over time, despite today’s disappearance of this historical landmark. Equally important to mention here that the great care devoted by the founder in his town-planning construction project can be explained, on the one hand, by the military, economic and fiscal paramount importance of Gafsa city and, on the other hand, by his concern to establish alliances with the town's notables with the aim of further strengthening the influence of the central power, gaining greater control over and containing the remote and peripheral regions of the Tunis regency.