Touba's Great Mosque commands the city. It rises in the middle of the central square on which the city's main avenues converge. This square is also home to the other central institutions of the Mouride tarîqa, like the cemetery, the library and the Caliph-General's audience hall (called the "Résidence"). The large compounds of the sons and successors of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba surround the square. Each heads a distinct lineage of the saintly Mbacké family. These caliphs and sheikhs are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the tarîqa, and of its spiritual metropolis. It is on this square that Mourides congregate on the 18th of Safar each year for the Grand Màggal, a pilgrimage to the heart and source of Mouridism. Estimates of attendance at the Grand Màggal in recent years have oscillated between one and two million. Mourides will travel from all over, and from as far away as Europe and America, to attend the event.
Residential wards have been built around this spiritual heart. Each ward is under the jurisdiction of a distinct Mbacké-Mbacké lineage and each is ordered as a Touba in miniature, with its own central public square, its mosque-mausoleum complex and official residence. Special religious celebrations are held in each of them annually to commemorate their founders. They thus serve to fix local identities, socially and spatially.
Darou Khoudoss was the ward of Sëriñ Mamadou Moustafa Mbacké, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba's eldest son and first Caliph of the Mourides (1927-1945). It is Touba's oldest residential neighborhood and houses the city's first market, Moubaraka Market. Darou Khoudoss is also home to Sëriñ Souhaïbou's large compound and mosque-mausoleum complex, a sacred well called Aïnou Rahmati (the "Well of Mercy") and the Darou Khoudoss Mosque which marks the accomplishment of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba's spiritual quest to serve the Prophet Muhammad, an event known as the “Pact of Exile.” Sëriñ Mamadou Moustafa's sons continue to manage Darou Khoudoss ward.
Darou Minam was Sëriñ Bassirou's ward. This sheikh, remembered for the comprehensive hagiography he wrote of his father's life, is buried in its mosque-mausoleum complex and his sons still administer the ward.
Sëriñ Abdou Khadre founded Touba Bagdad ward, also known as Sourah.
Sëriñ Bara's sons founded Gouye Mbinde ward.
Contrary to its neighbors, Touba Mosquée ward is maintained under the direct jurisdiction of the Caliph-General rather than any one of the Mbacké lineages. It is not centered on a public square but rather on Touba's main market, called Okass. Okass is one of Senegal 's most important markets as Mouride businesses based there have strategic interests in markets elsewhere, including the all-important Sandaga market in down-town Dakar. While Touba's thoroughfares converge on the Great Mosque, its public transit network (consisting of minibuses, buggies and donkey carts) converges on Okass Market. It is the city's central business district and houses its principal banking establishment.