Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 12469 — Digging up graves

Ibn Sirin said: Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) for permission to dig up the graves that were in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He gave him permission, so he dug up those graves and removed them from the mosque (and buried them elsewhere). Those graves had been left in the mosque only because the people had very little soft land.