This study analyses the concept of “utility” through the thought of al-Ghazali. The article argues that the concept of “utility” can be formulated as “that which brings the incomplete closer to the complete” with reference to al-Ghazali's understanding of 'kemal' in his text “Zemm of Jâh and Riyâ”. Analysing al-Ghazali's distinction between useful and useless knowledge reveals a similar structure. For al-Ghazali, the incompleteness of the one who wants to know comes between the one who wants to be known (object) and the one who wants to know (subject). Every human being desires to eliminate the incompleteness in his being and thus become an complete (kāmil). However, it seen that both knowledge and individual action are not absolute, since the form and degree of incomplete is different for each person who desires to be complete. In order to understand whether something is beneficial or not, it is necessary to look at what deficiency it will fill in the individual. The results of the study show that for al-Ghazali, the condition for something to be “useful” depends on whether it is a “need” that brings the person closer to what is truly complete.