After asking Allah to listen to and accept the prayers and praise of whomsoever praises Him, we proceed to praise Him by saying, ربنا ولك الحمد , usually translated as “Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise.”
If we take a closer look at the words used in this clause, we see there are a few different elements to consideer. Firstly, the word ربنا implies the complete meaning of "You are our Lord, the Sovereign, the Sustainer, the One in whose hands all matters lie.”
Secondly, the word حمد has been prefixed with the definite article ال which signifies that every type of conceivable praise is exclusively for Allah, and it is only He that is deserving of it.
And thirdly, in the phrase ولك الحمد the standard order of the words has been reversed to indicate exclusivity, indicating not just, “to You belongs all praise,” but rather, “to You ALONE belongs all praise.”
So when we say ربنا ولك الحمد we are essentially saying, “I acknowledge that You are Our Lord, our Master, our Sustainer, and I direct every type of praise to You exclusively, for none other is deserving of it.”