One of the central topics in moral philosophy is the “extent of moral demandingness,” which concerns determining the limits and levels of moral expectations in various contexts. The main question is: To what extent can morality legitimately demand action from the moral agent?

Using an analytical–descriptive approach, this study seeks to infer Martyr Morteza Motahhari’s perspective on this issue. The findings indicate that Motahhari’s moral theory rests on seven foundational principles, according to which the problem of moral demandingness takes on a novel, hierarchical, and context-sensitive structure. It begins with obligatory duties and minimal justice‑orientation and ascends toward the highest levels of moral aspiration and expectation. In cases of conflicting moral goods, based on the rule of “preferring the more important over the less important” (taqdim al‑ahamm ʿalā al‑muhimm), self‑sacrifice (īsār) can transcend the status of a mere virtue and become a moral duty and obligation.

Relying on a comprehensive view of humanity and existence, Motahhari’s approach transforms ethics into a graded, elevating, and rational path, steering clear of both pure minimalism and abstract, unrealistic maximalism in normative ethics. His framework thus provides a coherent answer to the complexity of moral life in diverse circumstances. The ultimate goal of this ascending path is divine proximity (qurb‑e Ilāhī), which supplies the inner motivation and metaphysical justification necessary for accepting higher moral demands and gives coherence to the entire system.