Here’s the English translation of footnote 69:
Verse:
قُلۡ اَرَءَیۡتُمۡ اِنۡ کَانَ مِنۡ عِنۡدِ اللّٰہِ ثُمَّ کَفَرۡتُمۡ بِہٖ مَنۡ اَضَلُّ مِمَّنۡ ہُوَ فِیۡ شِقَاقٍۭ بَعِیۡدٍ ﴿۵۲﴾
O Prophet, say to them: Have you ever considered — if this Qur’an really is from God and you kept denying it, who could be more astray than someone who has gone so far in opposing it?⁶⁹
Surah Ha-Meem As-Sajdah, Footnote 69:
This does not mean that you should believe merely out of the risk that if this Qur’an does turn out to be from God, your denial of it might bring calamity upon you. Rather, it means this: the way you are denying it carelessly, without any real thought — plugging your ears instead of trying to listen and understand, and digging in out of sheer, needless obstinacy to oppose it — this is simply not a wise course of action.
You cannot claim that you have come to know, with certainty, that this Qur’an is not from God. It is obvious that your refusal to accept it as divine speech is not based on knowledge but on conjecture — and if that conjecture could turn out to be true at first glance, it could equally turn out to be false. Now just weigh the two possibilities for yourself.
Suppose your assumption turns out to be correct — then, by your own reckoning, at most this much follows: believers and disbelievers will end up exactly the same, since both must die and return to dust, and there is no further life in which belief or disbelief would produce any consequence. But if this Qur’an genuinely is from God, and everything it warns of actually comes to pass, then tell me — by denying it and carrying your opposition so far, what fate will you meet?
Your own self-interest, therefore, demands that you set aside stubbornness and obstinacy and seriously reflect on this Qur’an. And if, even after reflecting, you still decide not to believe, then do not believe — but do not go so far in your determination to oppose it that you resort to weapons of falsehood, deceit, and oppression to block this message’s path, nor content yourself with your own disbelief while also working to prevent others from believing.