Born in Jombang, East Java, Nadjib began writing poetry while living in Yogyakarta, publishing his first collection in 1976.

The fourth of fifteen children, he began his education at the Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Ponorogo.

[3] He focused predominantly on his poetry during this period, studying from the Sufist poet Umbu Landu Paranggi, though he also established the Teater Dinasti theatre troupe.

[2] Nadjib returned to Indonesia, and his 1988 drama, Lautan Jilbab (Sea of Headscarves), broke the Indonesian record for audience size; Aprinus Salam of Gadjah Mada University writes that this can be attributed to the general populace's increased interest in religious materials.

[2] Nadjib leads the Kiai Kanjeng group, which stages dramas and musical performances on themes of religious pluralism.

[7] It In 2001 the group, then known as Kiai Kanjeng Sepuh, released a recording of Islamic music and chants titled Bermusik kepada Allah, untuk Indonesia, Maiyah, Tanah Air.

[9] Nadjib has frequently traveled through Indonesia to speak about Islamic values and spirituality, drawing thousands of people from a variety of faiths.

[11] Sabrang, known by the stage name Noe, is the vocalist for the Indonesian band Letto, Jembar (Senior 2017-2018) and Rampak (Junior 2018-2019) is the Head of Cahaya Rancamaya Islamic Boarding School's Student's Council.

He has supported the rights of Ahmadis to practice in Indonesia, and promoted open discourse with extremist groups as a method for mitigating their impact.