Where does “apahal” come from?

apahal (Malay) comes from Malay apa, from Proto-Malayic apa, from Proto-Austronesian *apa.

Ancestry of “apahal”, step by step

apahal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay apa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayapawhat; "introduces a question"
2Proto-Malayicapawhat
3Proto-Austronesian*apa—

via Malay hal

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayhalthing; circumstance, state, condition; affair,...
2Arabicحَالcase, state of things; state, condition;...
Every word from Proto-Austronesian *apa →Every word from Proto-Malayic apa →Every word from Malay apa →