Hadith 6:1295
Ibn ‘Ulayyah narrated to us, from Habib ibn al-Shahid, from Ibn Sirin, that Zayd ibn Thabit sought permission from ‘Uthman to exhume graves that were in the Mosque of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. So he gave him permission, and he exhumed them and removed them from the mosque. He said: "And they were only left in the mosque because the people were few in number."
حدثنا بن علية عن حبيب بن الشهيد عن بن سيرين أن زيد بن ثابت استأذن عثمان في نبش قبور كانت في مسجد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأذن له فنبشها واخرجها من المسجد قال وإنما كانت تركت في المسجد لأنه كان في رقاء الناس قلة