Questions about Satan and Islam

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Been reading an interesting book on Sufism. It’s a remnant of my religious studies class. It has IMHO a very interesting and thought provoking image of Islam’s take on Satan. Here’s a quote I found odd when compared to my own Catholic idea of Satan:
He (Satan) alone, of all the beings in the cosmos, loves God without gain, without hope, without even the possibility of feeling loved in return. Thus, seen objectively, this unrequited love is the most pure of any. The Devil serves without reward.
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Has there ever been a Christian tradition that reflects this? I mean has any saint, desert father etc. considered the love of Satan for God?

There’s more:
In Islam Satan is identified as the single angel who, setting himself apart from all other angelic beings, refused God’s command to bow down before Adam on the day of his creation.
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Anyone want to remind me Our version of Satan’s fall? I think I know it, but I dunno, this just sounds a bit odd. Why would God ask the angels to bow down before Adam?? Anyone have an idea where Islam got it?

One last thing (and I think it to be the most interesting):
Even while bearing the burden of eternal separation, the Devil has taken on the thankless and usually misunderstood task of creating obstacles for human beings. What few realize is that, through rising above these obstacles, we are able to rise to where he cannot go, stepping over him in our ascent toward our own higher natures. The Devil toughens us, forces us to remain awake, and offers lessons as no other angel can. Would we ever have learned to walk if our parents had continued to carry us everywhere? Our troubles and temptations, even if truly given to us by the Devil, are still ultimately gifts of God.
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Initial reaction: I never thought of it that way! Now, I’m wary as to the Devil’s motives, (and I’d like to see if any Fathers think similarly) but in the end they have a point. The Devil really has helped strengthen me through temptation to be a better Christian…

Any thoughts???
 
Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war.

ARISTOPHANES, The Birds
 
quotes 1 and 3 seem to be against Catholic teaching, but 2 is very similar to some traditions.

There are some who say that God revealed to the Angels what his plan for Man was, or possibly even showed them that Mary would become their Queen, and that Lucifer, unwilling to submit himself to a being he considered to be lower, and especially to a female, rebelled. This is not biblical of course, but it is one of the more common traditions of how the fall occurred
 
Muslims do not see Satan as Christians do. They see Satan as the tempter of humans. He is not evil, but merely the tester of humans to see what they choose… God or temptation.
 
Might be a dumb question, but is the fall itself even biblical? I would have to revisit genesis, but I don’t specifically remember it explained in Scripture. As far as I do know, the first we hear of Satan is in Gen chapter 3, but even then I don’t think it specifically names the snake as the Devil.

And yes Salsa, I thought as much. 2 immediately struck me as odd, but 1 I’m not positive on. While I wouldn’t stretch it so much as Satan adoring God and selflessly serving him, it does lead me to wonder if/what Satan feels for God. I know of his hate for humans in our ability to fall and regain grace, to sin and attain the vision of glory etc. But God, who is all good, the creator of all things, wouldn’t you expect Satan to observe God for who he is and adore him? I dunno.

But yes, the quotes are from Sufi texts, so their being contrary to Church teaching wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.
 
Dispector said:
Muslims do not see Satan as Christians do. They see Satan as the tempter of humans. He is not evil, but merely the tester of humans to see what they choose… God or temptation.
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Right. I guess I’m playing the devil’s advocate, but isn’t it considered wrong to see Satan as pure evil? I thought that it’s heresy to see God and the Devil as perfect and complete opposites. You know, like having an “evil God”. What’s the healthy medium?
 
Cruikshank_s said:
…God and the Devil as perfect and complete opposites. You know, like having an “evil God”.
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Satan is a mere creature, infinitely lower than God. He was created an archangel. He is the opposite counterpart of St. Michael, not of God.
God is love, and the capacity to love is a gift of His grace and a participation in His kingdom. Creatures who refuse their part in God’s kingdom refuse love and become prisoners to hate. So Satan does not serve God with a pure and unrequited love. God, by His own power, turns the evil deeds of Satan to good, thereby thwarting Satan’s hateful purposes.
 
Cruikshank_s said:
Might be a dumb question, but is the fall itself even biblical? I would have to revisit genesis, but I don’t specifically remember it explained in Scripture. As far as I do know, the first we hear of Satan is in Gen chapter 3, but even then I don’t think it specifically names the snake as the Devil.
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I have found at least one source saying St. Augustine thought it possible that the verse in the Creation Story of God separating the Light and Dark is a reference to the fall, as it happens before the creation of the Sun and Moon
 
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