This paper will be the first attempt in any western language to probe the famous final pronouncement of the putative Hidden Imam to Muhammad Samarri (d. 941CE), later canonized by the Twelver Shi'i tradition as the fourth and last special representative (al-na'ib al-khass) of the twelfth Imam. The statement produced by Samarri announced that there would be no further representatives or emissaries between the Imam and the faithful for the second or complete occultation - commonly referred to in later sources as the greater occultation - had now dawned. The statement went on to issue a stark warning and command: before the Imam's reappearance, there will appear many from among the Shi'a claiming to have seen him; all such claimants must be denounced by the faithful as "lying impostors." Initially, the Hidden Imam's final decree was understood to mean that he would remain incommunicado until his appearance. However, this position proved untenable to sustain before the incessant longing for direct contact with the Imam. Over the next centuries and up to our time, numerous accounts have been transmitted detailing encounters between the Imam and the most privileged of his votaries during the greater occultation, in particular from the ranks of the ulama. The accounts describing these tete-a-tetes have multiplied in number during the last century and a half. Most follow a common cadence and utilize a similar stock of devices, themes, images and tropes. They have served to cultivate an aura of sanctity for the ulama as the Imam's representatives, advancing their charisma and strengthening their religious and social influence, while in effect, serving to freeze the eschatological tensions within the tradition. This paper will analyze how three prominent scholars (Majlisi (d. 1699), Nuri (d. 1902), and Gulpaygani (b. 1919)) have negotiated the palpable conflict between the Imam's final decree and this body of narratives. The study will then proceed to compare their arguments with those posited by contemporary scholars and clerics such as Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini (b. 1925) and Hujjat al-Islam Ali-Akbar Dhakiri (b. 1960), the latter of whom has controversially argued for a literal reading of the phrase and called into question the veracity of the hundreds of encounter narratives.