Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The Hawd (Pool), the Scale, and the Sirat (Bridge) are established by authentic evidence, but the scholars have differed concerning the order of some of them in relation to one another.
It has been narrated in a hadith from Anas رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Seek me first when you seek me at the Sirat. If you do not find me there, then seek me at the Scale. If you do not find me at the Scale, then seek me at the Hawd.”
It was narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi. At-Tirmidhi said: “A Hasan Gharib (good but unusual) hadith.”
The apparent meaning of the hadith suggests that the Sirat comes before the Scale and the Hawd. However, this order does not necessarily mean a chronological sequence. Furthermore, the hadith is considered unusual, and some hadith scholars have stated that its narrator, Harb ibn Maymun Abu Al-Khattab Al-Ansari, was truthful but made mistakes. Therefore, one should not assert this order with certainty based on this hadith alone.
Other authentic hadiths indicate that the Hawd will be at the place of gathering before entering Paradise, and the stronger view is that it comes before the Sirat. It is authentically established that the Prophet ﷺ will be at the Hawd and that some people will be driven away from it.
It is also authentically established that when the believers have crossed the Sirat safely, they will be held at a bridge between Paradise and Hell, where some of them will receive retribution from one another. Then they will be purified and cleansed before entering Paradise.
As for the Scale, it is established by the Qur’an and Sunnah. Many scholars held that it comes before the Sirat, although the order of the Scale in relation to the Hawd and the Sirat is a matter of scholarly disagreement.
Resurrection and rising → Gathering and the place of standing → Reckoning and presentation of deeds → The Scale and the Hawd according to what the evidence indicates, while there is disagreement concerning the order of some of them → The Sirat → The bridge and retribution among the believers → Entry into Paradise.
Accordingly, the stronger view is that the Hawd comes before the Sirat, and that the Scale occurs before entering Paradise. It is not correct to state with certainty that the hadith of Anas establishes that the Sirat is the first of these stages, because there is an issue concerning the ordering in the hadith, and the narration itself is unusual.
And Allah تعالى knows best.