Although the ka'abah is the most sacred place to muslims any change in the structure is not prohibited by the Qur'an or the Sunnah In the year 1022 A.H. (1613 A.D.) considerable improvements were made in the ka'abah. It was demolished by a torrential deluge in the years 1039 A.H. (1629 A.D.).
It was rebuilt by the Ottoman Sultan Murad III in 1040 A.H. (1630 A.D.). In the year 1295 A.H. (1878 A.D.) the floor of ka'abah was paved with stones. The interior of ka'abah has been embellished many times, especially during the period of the Abbasid Calliphate.
The Abbasid period is the golden period of Islamic history and their prosperity and generosity is almost proverbial. Some of Caliphs embellished the walls of the ka'abah with gold and silver tablets. In a later period the ka'abah was often devested of its ornaments as aresult of penurious circumstances of its rulers or for suppressing turmoils and troubles there.
The rulers of mecca, when faced with and poverty used to remove from its gates and pillars the golden tablets and the Abbasid caliphs used to replace them as for instance, was done by al-Mu'tadhid Billah in 251 A.H. (765 A.D.) and in 268 A.H. (881 A.D.).