Is it permissible to use contraceptive pills? If it is not permissible, is it as sinful as abortion?

Is it permissible to use contraceptive pills? If it is not permissible, is it as sinful as abortion?

Dear Brother / Sister,

"Get married, and have children for I shall take pride in your number on the Day of Judgment." (Bayhaqi, 7:81) "Marry lovely and fertile women" (Abu Dawud, Nikah, 2; Ibn Majah, Nikah,1). We learn something very important from the hadiths above: to ensure the continuation of the generation. The point to be paid attention regarding the issue is to take measures for the continuation of the generation at the beginning; that is, marrying fertile women.

There are certainly some exceptions regarding the issue as in every issue. Azl (coitus interruptus; withdrawal method), a kind of birth control, is permitted in some hadiths under certain conditions, 
What is essential in Islam is not to prevent the babies to be born but to bring up a generation that the Messenger of Allah will be proud of due to its plenitude. Therefore, we should not avoid having many children.
However, the conditions of today’s life make it difficult to take care of many children, to feed them, to bring them up, and to equip them with the ethics of Islam and educate them so that the Messenger of Allah will be proud of them; the family may face many difficulties. Therefore, parents prefer to have the number of children that they can take care of and educate; they avoid having more children than they can take care of; thus, they want to use birth control methods.
The permission regarding azl (coitus interruptus) is valid for pills, condoms, intrauterine devices and other devices. They are considered to have the same conditions. The evidence that permits azl permits the methods mentioned above, too. They are similar. On the other hand, since it is permissible for men to withdraw in order to prevent conception, it is also permissible for women to take measures in order to prevent conception because the judgment is related to preventing conception no matter which method is used.

Questions on Islam