Motahari however always considered himself a pupil of the great Imam and undertook serious efforts to spread genuine objectives of the Islamic Revolution and stood by the Islamic movement through all stages.
Motahari stood against any type of superstitious and wrong beliefs, and also introduced the pure teachings of Islam the society at a sensitive juncture of history.
Ayatollah Motahari wrote assiduously and continuously from his student days right up to 1979, the year of his assassination. He wrote dozens of books and precious works before his life was cut short by a terrorist assassin’s bullet at the age of 60 years.
Following his martyrdom, Imam Khomeini recommended the young generations, university and seminary scholars to pay special attention to precious works left by Martyr Motahari.
Alongside his services at seminaries, Motahari had also served in the Tehran University as the Head of the Department of Theology and Islamic Learning's.
At the time of his assassination he was the president of the Constitutional Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a member of the Revolutionary Council.
Imam Khomeini issued a following historic message on the occasion of his martyrdom.
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Truly we are from God and we will return to Him
“Hereby I would express my condolences as well as my congratulation to Islam, the Islamic nation, especially to the resisting nation of Iran for this disaster of loosing the honorable Professor Haj Sheikh Morteza Motahhari (May his spirit be sanctified).
Condolence because of the martyrdom of the one who dedicated his precious life to Islamic aims and he campaigned against the deviations, condolence because of the martyrdom of the man who had no counterpart on Islamology and the other branches of Islamic techniques and those of the Holy Quran.
I have lost a very dear child of mine and I mourn for him who was among the figures who were my life achievement.
Although I have lost a very dear son of mine who was part of my soul, I am proud of such devoted children in Islam.
Terrorists cannot terror the personalities of the Muslim brave men. Islamic plans had been so far mixed with the martyrdom.