Five broad domains organize Qur’anic instruction: legal rulings, argumentation, remembrance of God’s signs, remembrance of God’s historical dealings, and remembrance of death and what follows. They are interpretive categories, not rigid boxes; a single passage may serve several purposes.
Commands and prohibitions — legal rulings.
Analysis and rebuttal of mistaken beliefs — argumentation.
Divine attributes and signs of power — remembrance of God’s signs.
Prophetic and communal narratives — remembrance of God’s days.
Resurrection, judgment, Paradise and Hell — the Hereafter.
In applying the framework, ask which purpose is dominant. A narrative may contain a command, but that does not automatically make its primary function legal legislation.