At the time of revelation, the intellectual wealth of the Arabian peninsula lay in the domain of poetry, prose, eloquence, and elocution. Allah in his infinite wisdom created a literary masterpiece in the Quran, in which nothing can compare with the linguistical, grammatical, and rhetorical mastery found. Poets and writers of the time, upon simply hearing the Quran and it's literary genius, embraced Islam immediately in the masses.
Because a large part of the unparalleled beauty of the Quran is in it's linguistics, we urge new Muslims and non-Arabic speakers to experience and submerge themselves in listening to the Quran in Arabic alongside your native language. We liken it to a masterpiece painting; no matter how many words are used to 'translate' the image to someone far away, no amount of words can capture the original image and its beauty. This same challenge is found when translating God's original Word into another language; although it is certainly a means by which non-Arabic speakers can understand Allah's guidance, it can never match the original and pure words of God Himself.
Therefore, practically speaking, for new Muslims who do not speak Arabic, we would strongly recommend that parallel to reading the English translation, one should also listen to the Arabic recitation. Below are a selection of eight beautiful reciters (Qari); please click on the audio-bar for a sample of the first chapter (Surah Fatiha) to get a taster of their recitation style. To access their recitation of the whole Quran, just click on their image.