I heard Abu Qasim ﷺ say, "People are like mines, varying in good and evil. The best of them in the days of ignorance are the best of them in Islam, provided they gain understanding of the religion."
حدثنا عفان حدثنا حماد قال أخبرنا عمار بن أبي عمار قال سمعت
سمعت أبا القاسم ﷺ قال الناس معادن في الخير والشر خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام إذا فقهوا
Its isnad is sahih, and the purpose of repeating these narrations is to present the various wordings of the hadith to aid in understanding it, as previously mentioned.