Medieval Christians judged Muhammad by criteria his own theology did not claim

Evidence

The Christian monk then explains “the signs of prophecy which oblige one to recognize the title of prophet and of apostle to him who shows them.” The Muslim notion of rasûl differs from Christian and Jewish notions of “prophet.” The Christian author does not acknowledge this, again suggesting that his real audience is fellow Christians and not his fictitious Muslim correspondent. The two signs of prophecy are revelation of things unknown (past and future) and performance of miracles. Muhammad foretold nothing, whereas the Hebrew prophets, Christ, and the apostles did. Muhammad produced no miracles, as the Koran expressly states; the miracles attributed to him are false. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 394

Categorization

• XREF: The refusal to engage the other’s own self-definition (rasûl vs prophet) is the same move Razack/Anidjar trace in modern dismissal of Islamic categories.
• DEFINE: Shows the rasûl/prophet distinction being deliberately flattened — an early instance of definitional erasure as polemical tool.