Allah says in al-Dukhan verse 27,
وَنَعْمَةٍۢ كَانُوا۟ فِيهَا فَـٰكِهِينَ
And [a life of] ease, wherein they were amused.
And in al-Muzzammil, verse 11,
وَذَرْنِى وَٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُو۟لِى ٱلنَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلًا
And leave to Me the deniers, those of ease [in life], and allow them respite a little.
The word used for ‘ease’ here, is نَعْمَة (na’mah) with a fathah on the letter ن noon. In all the other 50 times the word has been mentioned, it appears with a kasrah under the letter ن noon, as the word نِعْمَة – ni’mah. For example, in Aal-’Imraan, verse 174,
فَٱنقَلَبُوا۟ بِنِعْمَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍۢ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوٓءٌۭ
So they returned with Allah’s favours and grace, suffering no harm.
We can see that the difference between both nouns is merely a fathah and a kasrah – both, in fact come from the root ن ع م which in its essence refers to the meaning of abundant blessings that lead to a comfortable and luxurious life.
The difference between the two is that , in most cases, نِعمَة (ni’mah) with a kasra is used in the Qur’an to refer to a “grace” or “blessing” – that is, someone bestowing something upon someone else as a favour. On the other hand, نَعمَة (na’mah) with a fathah in the Qur’an refers to the idea of enjoying luxury, extravagance and ostentation without showing gratitude.
And thus we find in the two times this word has been used in the Qur’an it actually is used in the context of evil, adversity, and punishment; the verse in al-Muzzamil, verse 11 (above) is used in the context of the family of Fir’awn who were removed from the lap of luxury and ease (نَعْمَة) that they were enjoying, as a punishment.
This story highlights the importance of being grateful for the blessings one receives. Many people are granted blessings but cannot indulge in them. In such cases, the removal of blessings is not as painful as the pain one feels when reveling in them without showing humility and gratitude, just as the family of Fir’awn experienced when they lost everything they had been enjoying in full luxury.
The nuanced differences between نَعْمَة (na’ma) and نِعْمَة (ni’ma) emphasize the importance of paying attention to not just every letter in the Quran but also every single vowel. Such minor differences can dramatically transform the meaning of a phrase, shifting it from commendable to utterly reprehensible!
And Allah knows best.