How should people in rich countries help poor countries?

Every sincere act of help is good and welcome. But poor countries can only truly be helped when the economic system also becomes fair, because today it takes more from them than aid gives back.

Whenever disaster strikes somewhere, many people in rich countries give generously. That is good and deserves recognition. Good people are found in every society, even among those who do not believe in God. God created human beings good at heart. Unless their surroundings corrupt them, they feel an inner urge to serve the poor and those in distress. The Holy Qur’an praises such goodness wherever it appears.

But we have to look honestly at the whole picture. The aid poor countries receive is small compared with what the economic system of the rich world takes from them. Some countries have to pay more to service their debts than their entire income. Next to burdens like these, aid is little more than a sticking plaster.

Good individuals cannot change this on their own. One swallow or two do not turn autumn into spring. They bring a little joy and warmth here and there, but they do not change the weather. And the weather, in this case, is the system to which they themselves belong.

That is why Islam sees sharing not only as a voluntary gesture but as a right of the poor. The first verse above says that a share of the wealth of the well-off belongs to those in need. Anyone in a rich country who wants to help should give generously. But they should also remember that real help needs fair rules for trade, loans and debt, so that wealth does not flow in only one direction.