How can I begin and specialize in religious knowledge to fortify myself with understanding, and what are the books and methods that lead to that?

Seeking knowledge has a law and a methodology. First, sincerity to Allah and purifying one's intention, as Al-Hafiz Al-Hakami said: "And make your intention purely for the Face of Allah, for a structure without a foundation cannot stand." Second, knowledge should be sought from a pious, knowledgeable scholar, and one should avoid isolating oneself by reading books, for "he whose shaykh is his book, his errors will outweigh his correct understanding." Third, gradual progression and balancing between the branches of knowledge. The sciences that should be studied are: Tawhid (Monotheism), Fiqh (Jurisprudence), Hadith (Prophetic Traditions), 'Ilm al-Usul (Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence), Tafsir (Qur'anic Exegesis), and Nahw (Grammar), Sarf (Morphology), and other linguistic sciences.