Five broad lines of inquiry provide an organized approach to Qur'anic interpretation.
1. Five central sciences: the principal subjects directly communicated by the Qur'anic text.
2. Removing obscurity: understanding difficult features of Qur'anic composition and expression.
3. Literary subtleties: recognizing the Qur'an's distinctive style and rhetoric.
4. Methods of tafsir: studying early interpretive approaches and reasons for disagreement.
5. Unfamiliar expressions and occasions: exploring difficult vocabulary and pertinent contexts of revelation.
These areas complement one another: theme, language, style and reliable transmission together produce a more balanced reading.