For each cutting you plan to make, select a small branch attached to the outside base of the lavender plant. A young, bendable branch is required, or a branch growing horizontal just above the soil surface. There are several related methods of propagation referred to as "layering." This one is simple and low-risk, but can be labor-intensive if you plan to create more than a few cuttings. Refer to the tips below if you want to turn your lavender plant into dozens of new cuttings instead. Dig a 4–6 inch (10–15 cm) hole in the soil, a short distance from the mother plant. Position this hole so you can bend the middle of the selected branch down into it, with the leaves and flowers at the end above ground on the other side of the hole. Hold the branch in place with rocks or a bent stake to prevent it springing out of the hole. Bury the center of the branch in soil to fill the hole, leaving the flowering end above ground. Water the buried section occasionally, keeping it moist but not soggy. Take care not to let the soil dry out during hot summer months.  Watering is not recommended while the plant is dormant for the winter. Mulch can help the soil retain water, but may cause plants to overheat during hot weather. While you can begin this process any time, the branch may not develop a strong stem and roots until the growing season in spring and summer. After three or four months of growth, preferably as cool autumn weather begins, carefully dig around the buried branch to look for roots. If they are present and clumping the soil together, cut off the branch so all the roots are on the same piece as the flowering end. Move the cutting directly to its new location, moving the surrounding soil along with it to avoid damaging the roots. Keep the plant sheltered from wind until stronger roots develop, and care for it as you would any lavender plant.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Choose a small, young branch near the base of the lavender. Bury the middle of the branch in a shallow hole. Anchor the branch in place. Keep the buried branch moist. Dig up and cut the branch after at least three months of growing season. Transplant the cutting as a new lavender plant.


You're not going to have much luck memorizing passages if you're sitting in a loud, busy environment. Find a room in your home or mosque where you'll be free from distractions. Avoid rooms with TV or computer screens, and leave your phone in a different room after turning the sound off.  If you work on memorizing for less than 20 minutes, you're probably not going to remember the passage later on. If you memorize for more than 30 minutes, you can lose track of all the information—20 minutes is the perfect length for a memorization session. You can easily memorize a single ayah in one 20-minute session. Practice a new ayah every day to build up to a full surah. If you live with others, consider enlisting a friend or family member to memorize passages with you. This way the two of you can keep each other accountable when you're starting out. Select a surah that you identify with and feel a strong emotional connection to. There is nothing wrong with memorizing a single ayah because you love the meaning of the passage. Standard Muslim practice requires knowledge of an entire surah though, so you probably want to learn the whole thing.  If you're planning on memorizing an entire surah, start with the ayah at the very beginning of the chapter that you plan on memorizing. You should start memorizing surah Al-Fatihah since every muslim must know this in order to pray their salat. Before you start trying to memorize the ayah, read through it carefully in a language you understand to ensure that you understand the meaning of the passage. This will have the added benefit of helping you memorize the surah since you'll be able to rely on the sequence of the passages as opposed to simply memorizing the sounds. Even if it weren't helping you memorize, you should know the meaning of the words that you're memorizing. The entire point is to help you preserve and understand the word of Allah(SWT). You can't do that if you don't know what the words mean! Ayahs are always memorized in the classical Arabic that they were originally written in. This means that you'll need to obtain a recording of the Qur’an if you aren’t a natural Arabic speaker. Find an audio recording online or purchase an audio companion to help you with the pronunciation.  The online version of the Qur’an at https://www.quranwow.com allows you to listen to the ayahs while reading a translated version. This can be an incredible aid during the memorization process. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials that can walk you through the pronunciation techniques. The proper recitation techniques and sounds are called tajweed. Once you have a copy of the Qur’an, a quiet place to work, and an audio guide, start by reading the ayah out loud. Read the individual passage out loud in its entirety.  Avoid splitting a single ayah into parts. When citing or reciting it, other Muslims will expect you to know the entire ayah as opposed to part of it. Focus on the meaning of the words instead of the sounds alone to make memorizing easier. It's much easier to remember a story than a pattern of noises. Most ayahs are pretty short and are divided in a way that makes memorization easy. Say a single ayah at least 5 or 6 times while reading it on the page. Then, lower your book or look away from your computer and try to say it out loud from memory. If you get stuck, refer to your Qur'an or audio recording.  Depending on how good you are at memorizing, this could take you anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes. Once you think you memorize the ayah, revise from the beginning of the surah up to the ayah after your recent ayah without the Qur'an to make sure you might not forget it. Say the ayah out loud one more time. Then, immediately play a recording of the ayah with the proper tajweed. Check your recitation against the audio guide to ensure that your pronunciation, cadence, and tempo are correct. If it is, you can move on to another passage. Keep practicing if you need a little more work.  Repeat an ayah regularly to make sure that you don't forget it. Don't worry if you don't master it on the first attempt. The Arabic pronunciations can be pretty difficult if you grew up speaking a different language.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary --
Find a quiet place that's free from distractions for a 20-minute session. Select an ayah at the start of a surah you like. Consider the meaning of an ayah by reading it carefully. Obtain a copy of the ayah's pronunciation if you don't speak Arabic. Recite the entire passage out loud to get a sense for the rhythm. Repeat the ayah over and over again until you internalize it. Check your work against the audio recording to ensure you've got it down.