12/5 -- Laila released a statement ... saying she's okay and she's praying for the elderly man who was injured. Laila says the man was walking behind her car when she was backing up. Laila also says her 7-year-old daughter, Sydney, was in the car at the time of the accident.

Laila Ali was involved in a serious accident in Calabasas that left a pedestrian seriously injured ... TMZ has learned.

The accident went down Tuesday afternoon in Calabasas. We're told Laila accidentally hit an elderly man while driving through the parking lot of a shopping center. Paramedics and L.A. County Sheriff's deputies quickly responded to the scene.

Medics treated the victim on the scene, but he was eventually taken by ambulance to a hospital and is in stable condition ... according to our law enforcement sources.

Muhammad Ali's daughter remained at the scene and spoke to Sheriff's deputies once they arrived. The former boxer -- turned host/actress/author -- was not arrested or cited, for now -- and we're told the Sheriff's Department is investigating this as an accident.

We've reached out to Laila's reps for comment, but haven't heard back yet.

Story developing ...