[assohillA]

wa alaykumus salaam wa rahmatullah

Take a look at http://www.abumohammed.muftisays.com/Taleemul_Haq.pdf

Good beginners book, easy to understand insha allah. Covers Salah, Fasting, Hajj, etc

With regards to the rak'aat:

Fajr: 2 Sunnah, 2 Fard

Dhuhr: 4 Sunnah, 4 Fard, 2 Sunnah, 2 Nafl

Asr: 4 Sunnah, 4 Fard

Maghrib: 3 Fard, 2 Sunnah, 2 Nafl

Isha: 4 Sunnah, 4 Fard, 2 Sunnah, 2 Nafl, 3 Witr,

As far as the beads are concerned, no they are not compulsory.

In fact, according to some, this is a bid'ah. However, there is basis for its usage. See http://www.central-mosque.com/index....ads-bidah.html

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (al-Liqa’ al-Maftooh, 3/30) was asked whether using the masbahah for tasbeeh is bid’ah, and his reply was: “It is better not to do tasbeeh with the masbahah, but it is not bid’ah, because there is a basis for it, which is the fact that some of the Sahaabah did tasbeeh with pebbles."

wasalaam