Scriptures Outdated?

“The Torah and Injil have been surpassed and made irrelevant by the arrival of the Qur’ān.”

There is a widespread idea among Muslims that the Torah and Injil have been superceded or made irrelevant by the arrival of the Qur’ān.  This fantastic allegation has absolutely no basis in the Qur’ān or Hadith, it is a mere opinion which contradicts the Qur’ān.

If this allegation were true, the Qur’ān would not have instructed Jews and Christians: “you have no foundation until you observe the Torah and Injil” (Sura al-Ma’ida 5:68)—it would have instead said, “you have no foundation until you discard the Torah and Injil in favor of the Qur’ān.”  The Qur’ān would not have said: "So let the people of the Injil judge according to what God has revealed in it " (Sura al-Ma’ida 5:47)—it would have said, “let the people of the Injil forget the Injil and judge by the Qur’ān.”
So it is clear that the Qur’ān never alleged to replace previous revelations, but rather to confirm their continuing validity (5:48) in the “clear Arabic tongue” (26:195).
If each scripture really cancels the previous scripture and replaces it, we would expect Isa Masih to have disregarded the Torah, but instead he reaffirmed its continued validity, and added the next chapter of God’s Story, the Injīl. 

Abrogated (Mansukh)? Sometimes the doctrine of abrogation given in Baqara 2:106 is contorted to support this notion:
“None of Our verses (آيَةٍ , ‘ayah) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?” (Baqarah 2:106)
However, this verse is quite clear what the mansukh is referring to—‘ayah, individual Qur’ānic verses, not kitabs. When we examine all the hundreds of ahadith referring to this concept of mansukh, it becomes very clear that this verse is referring to Qur’ānic ayah, not kitab.

Faulty Comparisons – Those who consider the Torah and Injil superceded often argue from analogies, such as how old computer processors are replaced by newer, better versions, or newer governments bring new constitutions. However, such analogies cannot be made, since processors and constitutions are replaced only because they are imperfect. It is an insult to God to say His Eternal Word is imperfect—would God give a message that was inadequate or flawed? To say that Scriptures are inadequate insults Almighty God, for it ascribes to him human limitations.  When God gives a Scripture, it is perfect and never needs to be “replaced”. 

Appropriate Analogies – One analogy which adequately respects God’s Word is that successive Scriptures function like chapters or volumes of an unfolding story or trilogy, which are each important for understanding the whole picture of God’s plan.
Scriptures may also be compared to subsequent floors or levels of a building; if you remove the ground floor all the floors above will collapse. This is indicated in Sura Maidah 5:68:

“Say: O People of the Book!  Ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.”  (Sura Maidah 5:68)

Scriptures cannot be Contradictory– It may be possible that at one age God instructs a tribe to follow a certain rule and later instructs another nation to follow a different rule-that is acceptable.  But if one Scripture teaches that salvation cannot be earned through the law only through God’s one and only eternal arrangement for salvation, then being God’s Word this cannot ever be changed. Each Scripture has its own emphasis—just as the Injil’s main focus is how to achieve salvation, the Qur’an’s main emphasis is warning idolaters of Judgment Day.