Caskel writes that the "Bahila developed an abundance of talents of all kinds". A companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Abu Umamah, hailed from the tribe. Two brothers from the tribe, Salman ibn Rabi'ah and Abd al-Rahman ibn Rabi'ah, both served as generals under caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar in the 630s–640s. In the early 8th century, a member of the Bahila, Qutayba ibn Muslim, was appointed the Umayyad governor of Khurasan and was a key general in the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. The tribe also produced al-Asma'i, the well-known philologist.