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