She is best known for her debut collection of short stories, Temple Folk,[1] which tells of the lives of Black Muslims living in America in the 1970s, including their participation and interaction with The Nation of Islam.

[4] In May 2024, it was announced the book received the 17th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

[5] Bilal grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. to a middle class Sunni Muslim family.

[7] Bilal has cited Toni Morrison, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Edward P. Jones as literary influences.

Her previous writing has also appeared in the Chicago Quarterly Review and The Rumpus.