“I don’t understand why”
Satan did not bow before Adam because he considered himself better than Adam. He did not find it necessary to bow before an inferior being made of clay. قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ اَلَّا تَسۡجُدَ اِذۡ اَمَرۡتُكَ ؕ قَالَ اَنَا خَيۡرٌ مِّنۡهُ ۚ خَلَقۡتَنِىۡ مِنۡ نَّارٍ وَّخَلَقۡتَهٗ مِنۡ طِيۡنٍ Surah alA’araf: 12 But by that logic even the angels should have refused to bow before Adam, right? They too were created of a better raw material than Adam (noor), which was even better than that of the Satan (fire), and even they could not understand why God was creating a species which would cause havoc on earth and shed blood. وَ اِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّکَ لِلۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃِ اِنِّیۡ جَاعِلٌ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ خَلِیۡفَۃً ؕ قَالُوۡۤا اَتَجۡعَلُ فِیۡہَا مَنۡ یُّفۡسِدُ فِیۡہَا وَ یَسۡفِکُ الدِّمَآءَ ۚ وَ نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِکَ وَ نُقَدِّسُ لَکَ ؕ قَالَ اِنِّیۡۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ Surah alBaqarah: 30 But they bowed! That is called ibadah (submission). No ifs, no buts. Just hear and obey. There are man