Bhishti

220px|thumb|Bhesties, an 1838 illustration showing Bhishtis thumb|A Bhishti in 1880 The Bhishti or Bahishti are a Muslim tribe or found in North India, Pakistan and Nepal. They are also known as Abbasi, Bahishti Abbasi, Sheikh Abbasi and Saqqa. They often use the surnames Abbasi or Sheikh Abbasi. Bhistis traditionally served as water-carriers.bhishti (bheesty)

==Origin== According to documentary film-maker Farha Khatun, some Bhistis claim that the first recorded Bhisti in history was Abbas ibn Ali who they refer to as "Hazrat Abbas". In 680 during the war being fought by Imam Husayn and his army in Damascus, Abbas died crossing the Furat river (Euphrates) to bring water to Husayn and his army. left|thumb|Bhistiwala in Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Rajasthan Abbas ibn Ali was a son of the fourth Rashidun Caliph, Imam Ali. Ali was known for his bravery and devotion to Islam, which earned him numerous titles. One of them was 'Saqqa' or water-carrier, a honorific bestowed after the battle of Karbala in Iraq (680 CE), in which he sacrificed his life to fetch water for his half-brother Imam Hussain's children. The city of Lucknow is home to Dargah Hazrat Abbas, built to honour the sacrifice of the original water-bearer. During the Uprising of 1857, the shrine provided assistance to the Indian sepoys and Begum Hazrat Mahal. True to their origin on the battlefields of Karbala, the bhishtis continued to play an important role in the Subcontinent's military history through the Mughal and British eras. The water-bearers were a critical part of every major army retinue. In 1539, at the battle of Chausa in present-day Bihar, a bhishti saved Mughal emperor Humayun's life in the battle against Sher Shah Suri. This nameless hero inflated a mashak, so the Emperor crossed the Ganga on it and escaped to safety. He was rewarded with a day on the throne as imperial commendation for his bravery. The Bhisti is believed to have been laid to rest in one of the many unmarked graves at Ajmer Sharif Dargah.