How To Offer Namaz?

Types of Prayer
Salah is composed of the compulsory (fard) and the superogatory (sunnah, nafilah, etc).

Type
Significance
Fard
Compulsory
Wajib (Witr)
Necessary - it holds a shade less of a high status than Fard. Denying something necessary is corruption (fisq) but not disbelief. Leaving it is sinful.
Sunnah Mu'akkadah
Confirmed/strong sunnah - it is something the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) invariably did, most of the time, leaving only occasionally. One is rewarded for doing it and deserves blame for leaving it without excuse, because it entails 'turning away' from the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), whom we have been commanded to follow. It is sinful to persistently leave it.
Sunnah Ghair Mu'akkadah
Non-confirmed/lesser sunnah - it is something the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) did occasionally. There is a reward for doing it and no blame or sin for leaving it.
[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, 116, Maktaba al-'Ilm al-Hadith]
Nafil
Voluntary - Optional

Number of Rak'ahs of Salah (Units of Prayer)
It is obligatory to perform the following five prayers during each day and night at their stated times:

Prayer
Number Of Rakah (units of prayer)
Fajr
2 Rakah Sunnah Mu'akkadah
2 Rakah
Fard

Dhuhr
4 Rakah Sunnah Mu'akkadah
4 Rakah
Fard
2 Rakah Sunnah Mu'akkadah
2 Rakah
Nafal

Asr
4 Rakah
Sunnah Ghair Mu'akkadah
4 Rakah
Fard

Maghrib
3 Rakah
Fard
2 Rakah Sunnah Mu'akkadah
2 Rakah
Nafal

Isha
4 Rakah
Sunnah Ghair Mu'akkadah
4 Rakah
Fard
2 Rakah
Sunnah Mu'akkadah
2 Rakah
NaflMu'ak
3 Rakah
WitrMu'ak(Wajib)
2 Rakah
NafalMu'ak

Timings of Prayer
Salah has to be offered at or during its proper fixed time. No salah can be said before its time

Prayer
Timing
Fajr
Dawn Prayer - takes place before sunrise. At moderate latitudes, it begins approximately one hour and twenty minutes before sunrise and ends about ten minutes before sunrise.
Dhuhr
Noon Prayer - begins just after the sun has passed the meridian. It lasts until shortly before the Asr Prayer begins.
Asr
Afternoon Prayer - begins when the length of the shadow of an object is equal to the object’s length plus the shadow’s length at noon. It ends about 10 minutes before sunset.
Maghrib
Sunset Prayer - begins immediately after sunset. At moderate latitudes, it ends before complete darkness approaches.
Isha
Night Prayer - begins, at moderate latitudes, when the sky is completely dark and ends just before the Dawn Prayer.


Diagram of the Timings of Prayer:

Summary of the Five Daily Prayers Name