“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 many things that our 2½ kg brain cannot comprehend. Like we cannot comprehend the limits of time and space. But that's perfectly ok. We need not understand EVERYTHING. In his monumental book, Hujjatullah alBaligah, Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehelvi writes that while it is desirable and advantageous to understand the rationale behind acts of ibadah, acting upon a command of Islam is not hinged or dependent upon our understanding of the rationale or purpose or illat of that command. He explains that we need to have more faith in Prophet Muhammad ﷺ than our own wisdom and intellect. “I will do this if and when I understand its rationale” is not ibadah. I, for instance, have yet to understand why we need to perform wazu and gusl to attain ritual purity when passing urine, stools, gas or semen has nothing to do with the organs being washed in wazu/gusl, especially when the organs concerned have already been cleaned (istenja). But that does not mean I would not perform wazu or gusl until I understand its rationale. For that would be plain arrogance. That would be following in the footsteps of the Satan, something that God has quite explicitly warned against:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Surah anNoor: 21

The same admonishment has been repeated at several other places in the Qur'an. The 108th ayat of Surah alBaqarah, for instance:

لَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّۭ مُّبِينٌۭ

Our limited understanding also cannot comprehend questions about God and destiny. That is the reason why Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has asked us not to delve into those topics. Not because the answers to those questions do not exist, but because they are far beyond our limited understanding. It is like asking a blind person to describe the beauty of a flower or a deaf person to appreciate the nuances of Mozart. It's not that those things cannot be described, but the blind and the deaf cannot be expected to comprehend something which is beyond their abilities, which also makes it meaningless to describe it to them. It would be an effort in futility, no less.

Hence, while blind faith is bad, blind insistence upon knowing everything is also equally bad, if not worse. And to deny something just because ‘I’ cannot comprehend it is sheer foolish arrogance!

- Dr. Parvez Mandviwala