ﷺ People are like mines. The best of them in the age before Islam are the best of them in Islam, provided they gain understanding of the religion.
وبإسناده قال ﷺ الناس معادن فخيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام إذا فقهوا
Its isnad is sahih, previously mentioned in 9056 and 9533.9618m - And with the same isnad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do not begin the month a day or two early, unless it happens to coincide with a fast that one of you regularly observes. Fast when you sight it, and end the fast when you sight it, and if it is obscured from you, then complete thirty days and then break the fast." Sahih (9618m). Its isnad is sahih, previously mentioned in 9258.