Functioning today as a historical site, the Ben Youssef Madrasa was the largest Islamic college in the Maghreb at its height, and is widely recognized as a pinnacle of Saadian and Moroccan architecture.

[7][8] The Saadian dynasty, which enjoyed the status of sharifs (descendants of Muhammad), were less dependent on the construction of madrasas to sustain their legitimacy and the support of the ulama than their Marinid predecessors.

[13] This process of entry, like in many Islamic buildings, is carefully designed to inspire revelation and astonishment in an unexpected opening of space into the main courtyard.

[13] The layout of the building centers around the main courtyard, which is surrounded by east and west galleries and student dormitories on the upper and lower levels.

The chamber has a square floor plan with four marble columns upholding four arches below a central cupola of muqarnas (similar to the one in front of the madrasa's entrance).

Notably, it was also in this chamber that an 11th-century marble basin from Cordoba was first noted by Jean Gallotti (a historical arts inspector working for the French Protectorate) in 1921.

[6]: 134 The ornamentation of the Ben Youssef Madrasa derives closely from that of earlier Moroccan and Andalusi architecture, which makes use of pools, gardens, fountains, and surfaces covered in zellij (mosaic tilework) and intricately carved stucco and wood.

[6] The main central courtyard of the madrasa communicates a strong visual experience for visitors and students via these embellishing elements and their symmetrical arrangement.

The doors of the madrasa are plated with bronze forming an interlacing geometric pattern and enhanced with shallow carved arabesque motifs.

[18][19] Scholar Mariam Rosser-Owen has suggested that the basin was originally imported to Marrakesh by Ali Ibn Yusuf, who incorporated a number of marble spolia from the ruined palaces of Cordoba in the Ben Youssef Mosque that he built in the 12th century.