Medieval polemicists pathologized Muhammad’s visions as epileptic delusion

Evidence

Three of the four texts make Muhammad an epileptic, following the lead of Theophanes, who claimed that Muhammad invented his visions of Gabriel to explain his epileptic fits. Gautier, Guibert, and Embrico all tell a similar story, having the hermit reassure the doubtful wife that Muhammad’s visions are indeed genuine. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 752

Ome sOCmClty A 51. Cap. 11. Muslim: the name of this authority appears unrecognisably in the ‘Galensis’ printed text as Moiwm (and Berlin MSS have noyum but the B. nat. MS has Muzlim clearly. Some texts have God for Lord thy God. See Q. xcvi.1-5; Muslim, 1.252-8; cf. az-Zuhri, quoted by Watt, Mecca, p. 40. Bukhari appears as ‘Bohari’. The only vestige of an equally authentic account in Ricoldo’s work is a passing reference to Muhammad’s having said that revelation seemed like bells, which Ricoldo, whether recognising the supposed medical significance, or accidentally, associated with the alleged epilepsy (Disp. xi). — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1883

Categorization

• XREF: This debunking-through-pathologization move recurs whenever visionary claims are contested — parallels modern psychiatrization of religious experience. — connects to: Medieval Christians explained revelation as epilepsy while Islam read it as divine
• STORYSTEM: The story of a hermit privately performing reassurance for a skeptical wife — making a prophet appear legitimate through staged corroboration — is a fine engine for a historical or fantasy novel about manufactured charisma.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 752; Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1883