Both styles can guide us toward a related meaning. Describing one as “direct” and the other as “indirect” misses the main issue. The contextual clue and the possibility of literal intention must be analyzed together.
AspectMajāzKināyah
Intended meaningTransferred, connected senseAllusively indicated sense
Original assigned senseNot intended in this useMay also be intended
ClueExcludes literal intentionCan guide inference without excluding literal intention
Diagnostic questionWhy is the literal reading excluded?How do both readings remain possible?
The decisive row concerns the status of the assigned literal sense, not merely the existence of some inference.